India needs to be less of fuel for global tech and more of a tech leader: MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar

India needs to be less of fuel for global technology companies, and more of a technology leader, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology.

“Companies such as Uber, Volvo, Intel, are creating the ecosystem where the talent is now out there. When you throw in entrepreneurship, capital and a government that supports innovations, you will see a large number of India originated innovations in the next few years,” said Chandrasekhar, speaking at a Panel discussion on the side-lines of the New India Inc Summit in Bengaluru.

Large companies come into the ecosystem, create the capability, knowledge, talent and it’s the government’s ambition to create India origin companies, the IT minister said.

The geopolitical changes, along with Covid have made India a significant player in the global value chain for technology, and all of it points towards requiring more talent. However, if such a talent crunch lasts for a long time, it could lead to companies scouting outside India for talent.

“We have invested a lot of capital and into partnerships with the private sector to create platforms that address re-skilling, upskilling and learning multiple skill sets, in the tech space, it is the new normal,” said Chandrasekhar.

According to a recent Nasscom report, India has emerged as a global hub for digital talent with over 5 million tech workers. The IT industry recorded a 10% growth in direct employees for 2022 fiscal, adding about 4.5 lakh to its employee base during the period.

The world is now digitising and India is becoming the digital partner for the world. As the digitisation demands accelerate, the world looks at India as a trusted partner for digital products and solutions, said Chandrasekhar.

“We just need to make sure more and more of our youngsters are skilled in the skills of big tech companies that are entrepreneurs and startups,” he added.