The Hindu Business Line : ‘Poor infrastructure hinders building centres of excellence’

How will excellence emerge? Mr Nandan M. Nilekani, Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Technologies, and Mr Muhtar A. Kent, President & Chief Operating Officer, Coca-Cola Co, at the India Economic Summit in the Capital on Monday. Mr Nilekani said lack of infrastructure, neglect of urbanisation and a fragmented market in the country are the main impediments in building centres of excellence in India.

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New Delhi, Dec 3 Lack of infrastructure, neglect of urbanisation and a fragmented market in the country are the main impediments in building centres of excellence in India, said Mr Nandan Nilekani, Executive Co-Chairman, Infosys Technologies.

Speaking at a panel discussion on building centres of excellence in India at the India Economic Summit here, Mr Nilekani said though bricks and mortar infrastructure was a key issue, it was not the only impediment in building such centres.

“India has succeeded in building a functional democracy but has not succeeded in building the seemingly easier task of building roads,” said Mr Nilekani.

Private enterprise is building infrastructure such as the Bangalore international airport “but we have to still to figure out how to get there quickly,” he quipped, referring to the lack of access roads.

Mr Stephen Rohleder, COO, Accenture, identified the key components for success in building centres of excellence as the establishment of human capital, ability to have an educated base, reliable infrastructure, stable public policy, an entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to secure and sustain financial capital.

Private industry, he emphasised, needed to step in and build infrastructure otherwise India will fall behind. India had tackled the most difficult aspect of building such centres, that of trained human capital.

Mr Muhtar Kent, President and COO, the Coca-Cola Co, identified food processing, tourism, healthcare, spices and retail as the areas where India could consider building centres of excellence after the success of IT, entertainment and telecom.

However, he added, the challenge lay in building infrastructure and removing the dichotomy between central and local governments on critical issues.

Mr Kent also announced that Coca-Cola would create a school of retailing in India.

Commenting on Indian managers, he said they have a very positive attitude, have an understanding of world cultures and are mobile.

“Indian managers will increasingly manage global businesses,” he added.

Mr Hector de J. Ruiz, CEO, AMD, USA, said human capital is an important ingredient in building centres of excellence and Indian universities have produced some of the best educated work force.

India would be wise to build on its human capital but increasing investments in bricks and mortar infrastructure is inevitable, he emphasised.

The panel discussion was chaired by Mr Prannoy Roy, Chairman, NDTV.