During his visit to India, Jack Welch, chairman and CEO, General Electric,
said, "The real treasure of India is its intellectual capital." But it
seems that the country itself is precariously close to facing a dearth of this
capital in the coming years.
With more than 19 states pursuing IT policies, the demand for software
professionals within the country would be immense. Outside, the US has increased
the number of visas to be granted, while other countries are offering schemes to
woo Indian IT professionals. Ramanand Baliga, GM, IBM Global Services India,
highlights another trend. "After several success stories and cost saving
benefits, most US enterprises have come to realize the value of moving work
offshore to India," he says.
The Shortfall
As present, India has an employed workforce of 5.5 lakh, of which 3.4 lakh
work for the software industry and the rest in IT-enabled and other related
services. If the current supply of 85,000 per annum is maintained, there will be
only 6.8 lakh professionals by 2008.
On the other hand, as per Nasscom estimates, India will require 22 lakh IT
professionals by 2008, of which 11 lakh will be for the IT-enabled services
sector. The ministry of information technology (MIT) also estimates a demand of
20.7 lakh professionals by the same year–2 lakh for software products, 5.8
lakh for IT services and 12.9 lakh for IT-enabled services and e-business. An
estimated 20% increase in international demand will add to the pressure, says
MIT.
The IT task force, in a draft report, estimates a shortfall of as many as
eight lakh engineers and post graduates by 2007.
Clearly, India has an uphill task of coping up with the rising demand.
Govt initiatives
As a measure to meet the demand, Nasscom has suggested that the output from
all engineering colleges should be tripled. The government has decided to make
investments of about $1 billion to increase the turnout of IT professionals from
100,000 per year now to 300,000 per year by 2005.
According to the task force, the cost of upgrading the computing and
networking facilities in some 200 institutes will require investments of Rs 6—8
crore. Setting up of new institutes will require Rs 10 crore per institute,
excluding the funds needed for hostel and classroom facilities.
Increasing the number of professional colleges is one thing but to ensure
good quality of the education being imparted is a daunting task. According to a
survey done in AICTE-approved institutions, there was one teacher for every 45
students for IT courses as against the AICTE norm of one for every 15. With such
critical shortage of faculty, the increase in institutions will only compound
the problem. In the face of such constraints, the task force’s recommendation
of establishing a "national cluster" of 65 institutions that will
share faculty, courseware, resources and information can be of significant help.
Employee retention
Companies are working out solutions for retaining professionals. Infosys
increased salaries by 30% last year and by 16% this year. ESOPs and other
incentives are also among the prescriptions for employee retention. R Vidyasagar,
head, human resources, i-Flex solutions, says that since work and travel are the
two compelling reasons for which Indian professionals migrate, his company
ensures that the employees have a unique opportunity to travel, live and work in
these countries.
As opportunities rise in India, the country will need its key asset–manpower.
Be it through increasing its workforce base, retaining the professionals or
luring back the wayward few, India has to ensure that it has the required
numbers.
PRIYA SIVAKUMARAN in New Delhi