The Hindu Business Line : `Paradigm shift in IT services with R&D focus required'

WITH competition hotting up and free flow of goods in new trade regime and outsourcing of services on the increase, India needs to bring in a paradigm shift in its services-centric IT business model, according to the President of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), Mr Kiran Karnik.

Mr Karnik, who was speaking on `Importance of Research for Competitiveness in IT' said, with Indian techies thriving on software code work over the years they need to change course and take to innovation and high-end engineering services to stay ahead of the competition. Interestingly, software-coding work can be automated. This means coders could possibly become irrelevant. Therefore, it is easier said than done to stay ahead in this extremely competitive global environment."

Referring to the Union Finance Minister's announcement of earmarking Rs 100 crore for the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, to make it a world-class research centre, Mr Karnik said that a recent recommendation of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister has received an in-principle nod for setting up of two more institutions each with a corpus of Rs 500 crore. These could either be greenfield or existing institutions. The Government has agreed to create a Rs 1,000-crore corpus fund for a national scientific and research foundation, modelled on the lines of the National Scientific Foundation of US, focussed on technology R&D.

Based on the success of software technology parks, the Government is in the process of establishing a DNA Park that would be focussed on promoting the growth of the biotech sector and life sciences research in the country. The Government would call for international bids and finalise its developer along with the location to set up such facility, which could even be Hyderabad.

Addressing students and academia at the International Institute of Information Technology, Mr Karnik today said Indians have this unique ability to adapt. This ability coupled with clear edge in terms of manpower resource will help it have a decisive edge, where R&D driven innovation will hold the key."

"A big chunk of the Indian IT services sector is engaged in handling routine tasks. We need to transit to higher rung of services. Whatever others do, we need to do better as mere low cost service model, our USP for years, will gradually be irrelevant," he explained.

Referring to high-end R&D centres in India like that of Texas Instruments, IBM Research Labs, and Novartis research centres, Mr Karnik said, "We need to scale up to such levels, and then India could aspire to become a R&D hub for the world given its inherent strengths."

The students of the IIT-H lined up a series of innovative research initiatives cutting across multiple areas of business interests including wireless technologies, man-machine interface and electronic documentation.

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