New Delhi: Infosys—the IT bellwether that tops the list of the 'best employers' in the country has admitted that the software industry does eats away a major chunk of the ‘creamiest’ lot of engineering graduates, churned out by top-notch institutes of the country like the IITs.
S Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys Technologies does agree, to some extent, with the perception that the IT industry sucks up most of the engineering talent in India.
"The IT sector continues to be the preferred option for engineering graduates because the whole area of computers is seen as a sunrise sector. The sector that has got a lot of global opportunities for the students. So, it will continue to be the preferred sector (for engineering graduates),” he was quoted by PTI.
Gopalakrishnan said that Indian economy needs more engineers and that the intake should be increased.
“Over time, we have to re-look at increasing the number of engineering graduates coming out so that requirements of all sectors can be met. Today, that's not happening. That's why there is a skewed trend towards IT,” he said.
On the issue growing wage inequality between IT professionals and others, Gopalakrishnan, said as more and more industry segments are becoming global, the gap between salaries of IT professionals and others is reducing.
"Look at retail, telecom and manufacturing companies. As they become more and more global, actually they compete very well with IT companies in terms of compensation," he said.
The rupee appreciation "is an issue of supply and demand," Balakrishnan said. "The Indian economy is growing at 8% and attracting lots of capital, both debt and equity; there's a lot more money flowing in than out," he said.
For Balakrishnan, whose firm got more than 60% of its revenue from US companies paying in dollars, the trend requires some complicated and aggressive hedging.
Gopalakrishnan, has warned the Indian IT industry, already facing issues like wage inflation, high attrition rates and a strong rupee, that it cannot afford to sit on its laurels as global competition is on the rise. "We (Indian IT industry) cannot rest on our success to date," Gopalakrishnan told PTI in Bangalore.
"It's all about what we are doing today, how we are going to compete tomorrow, which is going to decide your future. So, it's being relevant, continuously evolving and changing to meet the market requirements." Gopalakrishnan does not buy the argument that the Indian IT sector may witness slowdown after growing at a scorching pace in the recent years.
"The market opportunity is there for companies to grow. Business is there for companies to grow. Nasscom continues to project that the sector would grow at 25-30% in the foreseeable future. So, I think the opportunity to grow continues to be there."Given the size of the Indian IT industry today, it is in a much better position to meet the expectations, he said.
"Top tier (Indian IT) companies are much larger today. They have a global brand, global exposure, they have strong leadership, large employee pool....they are in a much better position.
"To stay ahead of the race, Gopalakrishnan said, the Indian IT industry needs to further enhance its value proposition, service offerings and its portfolio to meet market demand and what the customers are looking for as well as respond to changes which are happening in (market) environment and technology."We have to make sure that we address the talent needs of the industry. Definitely, we need to address the issue of an appreciating rupee," he said.
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