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IT WORKFORCE: India Feels the HR Crunch

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DQI Bureau
New Update

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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