By IANS
Bangalore : Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur Monday said information and communication technologies (ICT) would be driving the growth of Indian economy in the coming decade.
“The fundamentals of ICT have taken a firm foothold in the sub-continent over the last decade. I foresee ICT driving economic growth,” Thakur said while inaugurating the 10th edition of Bangalore IT.in here.
Referring to the spectacular growth of IT in the country led by Karnataka, Thakur said Indian talent had attracted global attention, leading to several multinationals setting up operations in the sub-continent.
“In its own right, Bangalore has not only become a global brand, but also a preferred choice of global IT firms to set up centres of excellence and R&D (research and development) facilities,” Thakur pointed out.
With a proactive IT policy, the host state has encouraged Indian and overseas firms to look beyond Bangalore to set up their operations in cities such as Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Dharwad and Belgaum.
“Karnataka has also become the first state in the country to set up a full-fledged IT finishing school for building talent pool and bridging demand-supply gap in the sector. The finishing schools provide employable skills to fresh graduates,” Thakur pointed out.
Delivering the keynote address, union IT secretary Jainder Singh called upon the industry to cut costs and move up the value chain to combat the effects of the rising rupee against the dollar.
“A rising rupee, periodic wage hikes and spurt in real estate costs have put the Indian IT industry under pressure. The industry needs to move up the value chain in products and services such as KPO (knowledge process outsourcing) and expand their presence in smaller cities to sustain growth momentum and maintain competitive edge in the global market,” said Singh.
“IT firms will also have to look beyond the US market to counter the adverse effect of a depreciating dollar and tap the potential of European and emerging markets to achieve the export target of $60 billion by 2010,” Singh affirmed.