The Hindu Business Line : `MNCs flock to India for quality, speed, innovation'

Mr N.K. Subramaniyam, Senior Vice-President, Financial Services Group, Birlasoft Ltd, flanked by Ms V. Sujatha, HoD, MCA Department, S.A. Engineering College, and Mr Venkatesh Raja, Director, during a BL Club lecture in the college.

Chennai , Oct. 4

"If one were to think that MNCs come to India because Indian labour is cheap, it does not hold good any longer. They come now for our quality, risk-taking ability, speed, flexibility, innovation and productivity. You, as customers, are demanding and do not expect your customers to be otherwise," said Mr N.K. Subramaniyam, Senior Vice-President, Financial Services Group, Birlasoft Ltd, while addressing the MCA students of S.A. Engineering College in the ongoing Business Line Club lecture series.

"Many first-generation outsourcing deals, estimated at $118 billion in annualised contract value (ACV), are set to expire in 2006-2008. New suppliers are positioning themselves aggressively for this business. Approximately one-quarter of these deals have already been renewed, based on confirmation by key suppliers in Q1 2006. Majority of these contracts, valued at $88 billion, have not yet been renewed." Therefore, before Indians lay huge opportunities for growth, said Mr Subramaniyam.

"But are we prepared to cash in on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that would propel India to heights never before dreamt of?" he asked. Quoting McKinsey studies, he said that only 25 per cent of the tech graduates and 10 - 15 per cent of other graduates are suitable for employment. In addition, some of the graduates from rural backgrounds are excellent programmers but cannot communicate and so they fail.

The days are gone when people were given 6-10 months to get trained. Now, one gets into real-time projects immediately after joining the company. The industry expects one to be productive in 180 days.

"Decide your domain after three to four years in the IT industry. If you keep changing your domain, you will be nowhere. Yesterday and today if one were to say that I know technology and not domains, they can survive. But, not tomorrow. You also need to know the domain and technology," he said.

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