The IT developer ecosystem in the country has come of age. From being a ‘resource hub’, India has emerged a talent pool, developing products for Indian and global clients.

“India has emerged the second largest developer community with 3.5 million developers after the US, which has about five million developers. India will reach that number or even surpass that in a few years,” Seema Kumar, Country Leader of IBM (India and South Asia, Developer Ecosystem and Start-ups), told BusinessLine .

“They are not just influencers, they have transformed into decision-makers. We are approaching them with Code-Content-Community strategy, giving them flexibility allowing them to code the way want,” she said.

IBM is offering about 100 ‘reusable code patterns’ in Open Source code to developers, making it easy for them to work on their products.

“This will not only cut the time to develop applications but also remove the entry barriers,” she said.

She is in town in connection with IBM’s annual Call for Code, a global initiative that challenges developers to use cloud, data, Artificial Intelligence and blockchain technologies developed by it to solve societal problems.

“This year’s theme is mitigating impact of natural disasters. We are asking developers in India to come up with solutions for floods, earthquake, drought, tsunami, cyclone storms, avalanches and landslides,” she said.

The challenge calls for solutions that can reduce “human suffering and the number of people affected by natural disasters.”

After Bengaluru, the ‘Call for Code’ workshop roadshows will happen in Hyderabad, Gurugram, Chennai and Pune. The developers can submit their projects by August 31.

These workshops are aimed at exposing developers to get hands-on experience on various IBM technologies that will help them develop applications and solutions.

The winner will get a prize of $2,00,000, followed by a second prize with $20,000. The prizes will be given away on October 13, marking the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.

IBM had announced a five-year plan for Call for Code with a financial support of $30 million.

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