‘We can be the global knowledge capital’

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STPI, however, will be of great help. It will give out a positive signal.

However, these are short-term concerns. On a long-term basis, we need to build a robust resource base - an excellent supply of quantity and quality. We need to ensure that resources are industry-ready and available.

Broadly speaking, we need to focus on three things. Firstly, we have to influence our environment in India as well as abroad to make it conducive to do business. We have to work hard on maintaining our competitive edge over other countries.

Lastly, we need to be careful about the impact we make on society. So, as our business grows, we have to ensure that IT reaches masses and also take care of the issues facing the online world—data security, data privacy, cyber laws and piracy.

How ‘industry-ready’ are our engineers today? Can inadequate talent pool impact the growth?

We are already working on improving the suitability of engineers coming out of colleges. So, we have started finishing schools. We are training faculty and new IIITs are also on cards. We are working hard on improving candidates’ suitability. Our demography is our greatest strength. India has a huge opportunity and the fact that we have a much younger population gives us an edge. We can be the knowledge capital of the world. The opportunity is limitless. We have to make sure that we tap into it. It is an exciting time for us, but we can’t afford to be complacent. We have to improve education, create the right work ethos. It’s also important to ensure a geo-political position where we are seen as a safe country to work in. What we have achieved in IT, biotech and even engineering is just the beginning.

Can industry, in your opinion, continue to see the heady growth?

We might see a short-term impact on profitability and some impact in stock market. But our value proposition continues to be strong. We are on track to touch $60 billion by 2010. We will continue to add value and remain competitive. Growth might not look as big in percentage terms but we will continue to show good growth in dollar terms in the next decade too.

Kiran Karnik took over just before last US elections and now you…