Speaking at the fourteenth foundation day of C-DAC, Prof Paulraj said that 13 years was a long time in the computing industry and it was imperative that the premier R&D institution's goals be in tune with the changing times. Formerly with the Indian Navy and also among the founding fathers of C-DAC, Prof Paulraj said C-DAC would have to sort out the dilemma of whether to look at strategic interest and national security or be at the cutting edge of commercial technology. "It made sense more than a decade ago when they (defence) were at the cutting edge of technology but today they are lagging behind. Commercial technology is far ahead and many of the PCs are far more powerful than many of the ships in the fleet," Prof Paulraj said.

He urged C-DAC to take up few core technology projects, establish the basic technology and then take it out for commercialising the technology. Growth and incubation of technology should be C-DAC's focus. "No private company will build technology and C-DAC has to do it and government's participation is fundamental," Prof Paulraj said. He suggested that C-DAC collaborate with top industry and university research organisations and move towards setting up a base in the US. "In the Bay area many such institutions from Europe have set up their base just to keep an eye on the trends," Prof Paulraj said. C-DAC should also focus on bringing out a generation of technology and thought leaders who will help the Indian industry move up the value chain and get to the top of the pyramid. Vinay Kohli, secretary, ministry of information technology also expressed concern about C-DAC's future direction.