The Hindu Business Line : `This is India's moment'

Opportunity. That was the theme that ran through the speech made by S. Gopalakrishnan, CEO and Managing Director-designate, Infosys at the first convocation of the Asian School of Business (ASB) in Thiruvananthapuram.

"This is India's moment. I wish that you will make this your moment," he told the graduating class of ASB.

There were massive changes or shifts happening in the world and these were creating opportunities for innovation, business and wealth creation. For a change, India was well placed to take advantage of these knowledge-driven opportunities, he said.

Outlining the seven major shifts that were impacting the world, Gopalakrishnan said the first shift was globalisation. Business opportunities were global and so was competition, he pointed out. "Any business can be a global business — one which accesses capital where the costs are cheapest, produces where the right resources are available at the best costs and sells where the profits are the highest," he said.

The second shift was the rapid pace of change of technology and the sheer number of technologies that would impact our lives, he said. "Technology is facilitating the creation of new business models and opportunities. Technology makes it possible to work from anywhere in the world, thus creating huge employment opportunities for India," he pointed out.

According to Gopalakrishnan, shift number three was the creation of new markets in India and China. The opportunities are huge for businesses that can go to these markets and address their needs, he said.

The changing demographic profile of the world was the fourth shift that held opportunities for India. With falling population growth rates and an ageing population, the developed nations offered a market for products and services that catered to the needs of the aged. However, India would have one of the youngest populations in the world. The fifth shift impacting the world was the changed nature of collaboration, Gopalakrishnan said. New models are emerging for collaboration across organisational boundaries and between individuals, he added.

Changes in the regulatory regime were driving the sixth shift, he said. "Tighter regulations are creating a level playing field for doing business and also creating opportunities for businesses that assist companies in complying with the changed regulatory environment," Gopalakrishnan added.

Increased consumer power was the seventh shift that was impacting the world, he pointed out. "Clever businesses are working with their customers to co-create new products and variants of existing products," he added. "All these changes mean that this is a good time to graduate and join the workforce," Gopalakrishnan said.

Defining an entrepreneur as a person who has initiative, is self-driven, solves problems and can inspire others to join him or her, he stressed that people can be entrepreneurs even while working within a larger organisation. Entrepreneurs create new products, jobs and wealth. .

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`This is India's moment'