The former chairman of Tata Consutancy Services (TCS) and skill development advisor to the Prime Minister, S Ramadorai, was invited by Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa to chip in with inputs to devise a new IT/ITeS policy for the state.
Addressing the CII Connect conclave here, she said the proposed IT/ITeS policy will catapult the state to the numero uno position in the country. Quoting a McKinsey report, she said, ?Indian IT exports could reach $175 billion by 2020, and combined with the domestic growth the industry could well touch $225 billion. I call upon S Ramadorai to provide his invaluable inputs and expertise in bringing out a new IT/ITeS policy.?
Regarding the scope of expansion of IT services growth in the state in the context of the new proposed policy, Jayalalithaa said that Chennai is all set to become the IT capital of the country as it churns out of 1.92 lakh engineering graduates. The state?s Anna University, which governs 500 engineering colleges, produces 25% of India?s engineers and 10% of the world’s, she said.
Lauding the state’s achievement in IT, she said the focus on value-addition is gaining precedence over the overall growth process. Tamil Nadu has about 1,800 IT and IteS companies and 200 wholly owned foreign offshore firms. Close to 49% of the IT firms are engaged in system application development and maintenance and 12% are in the business process outsourcing (BPO) segment, she added.
Observing the trend of the Indian IT industry that is moving up the value chain, the chief minister said the 2.5-million Indian IT workforce which generated $88.1-billion revenue in 2011, is reinventing itself from volume-oriented to being value-oriented, particularly in the BPO segment. ?Additionally, the share of IT in overall exports of the country has shot up from 4% in 1998 to 26% in 2011,? she added.
On his part, Ramadorai commended the chief minister for bringing in the Ford car project in the 1990s, which led Chennai to earning the epithet of Detroit of Asia. ?Around 40% of cars and 35% of auto components manufactured in the country are from the auto industries in and around Chennai,? he said.