Fix the talent issue, do something in the talent space-- this is the most sought after request of IT companies to Nasscom. “Talent is the biggest pain point that our members are facing. This is the situation in every city,” Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom, said on Wednesday.

“If we don’t fix the problem of talent pool and don’t build a strong talent pool, then companies are going to start hiring from each other because this is the pool that exists and this is a very small. That’s going to have an impact on wages, and redefine the entire competition landscape for companies,” she told newspersons on the sidelines of a two-day Nasscom HR Summit.

To catalyse the industry’s growth, talent is the biggest challenge that needs to be overcome, she added. Last year was pretty good with the IT industry hiring a net of 1.80 lakh people. “I am not going to predict a number and giving guidance does not make any sense as technology is changing quite fast,” she said to a query on the outlook for this year.

However, the CEO survey was pretty positive as the digital transformational opportunity globally is growing and the Indian IT is at the heart of it . It is not about how much you can hire, but are there enough people you can hire. “We are in an exciting time. I am very bullish and extremely convinced that the $1-trillion digital economy is a reality,” she said.

The second focus area for Nasscom is around innovation as the Industry 4.0 is moving from closed IP to open IP; open innovation and joint IP. The new world is about co-creation - from big technology to start-ups.

There is no dearth of innovation in India. In the past, innovation was happening in Silicon Valley, but today it is happening in Indian companies. “We need to figure a way out to see that some of the innovations are adopted and scaled in India. This is a big challenge. There are some fundamental issues that need to be solved starting especially with the government, which needs to procure technology, she said.

Innovation thrives in India but the market does not. “We have to invest in creating the market. We are addressing this issue by focusing on three verticals -- health, agri and manufacturing-- by working with the industry and the government to grow the ecosystem and pace of innovation in these verticals, and also on how to drive adoption, scale and bring it all together,” she said.

To a query on US making frequent regulations, Ghosh said there is a lot of rhetoric, which happens for political reasons and business continues. “We will keep listening and watching the rhetoric. However, it is not easy to change a law in the US. It has to go through several processes. The fact is that Indian IT companies are adding tremendous value in the US....” she said.

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