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H A Nagaraj Rao, the man who heads the Electronics
and Computer Software Export  Promotion
Council (ESC), Bangalore, the autonomous body under the
Government of India speaks to bangalorebest.com about
his mission and vision for the IT sector in India.
When did you take
charge of ESC Bangalore and what were you doing before that?
I joined ESC two years back when India was coming up as
a major IT power. Before that I was the Managing Director
of Silk Marketing Board. I was the one who introduced online
transaction for the Silk Board in 1985 when Internet and online
transactions were unknown to us. Then I retired and worked
as a co-ordinator for IT.com, an International event organised
in Bangalore for the promotion of information technology.
What was the role of the Council in
making Bangalore, the IT capital of India?
ESC always played a key role in the IT field by knowing the
pulse of the global market. Around 680 software and hardware
companies are registered in the council so far. We provide
them all the information they need. It is known to all that
"information is money". For anybody wanting to start
a company, we provide them with basic infrastructure support
like that of ITPL, support for marketing or exporting, and
help them to get necessary contacts.
What are the measures taken by ESC to promote
IT in India?
We have taken different measures like:
Organising one-to-one interactive sessions between the Indian
companies and foreign delegates for tie-ups and joint ventures.
Provide the profiles of Indian companies to foreign delegates
and facilitate discussions.
Lead Indian delegations to various IT fairs around the
globe to facilitate exchange of ideas.
Organising seminars on relevant topics on IT.
Besides we are bringing out a monthly magazine called ELSOFTEX,
which gives insight into the IT scene in other countries.
The advantage of ESC is that it is a autonomous body, which
enjoys the support of government.
Do you think the US economy slowdown will
adversely affect the Indian IT sector?
To my knowledge, we need not be afraid of the US economy
slowdown. Rather it will enhance the growth of Indian IT business.
So far in
terms of quality of IT products, and maintenance base products,
India is second to none. There are only 23 companies in world,
which have reached CMM level 5 so far, of which 17
of them are from India and 13 among them are from Bangalore.
So there will be no question on the quality of our products.
We are also trying to contact Asian and European countries
directly rather than through the US now. Delegates are coming
to India from places like Japan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Gulf
countries etc for new tie-ups. It will be profitable for us
and for them.
With regards to manpower flow to the US, there will be a slowdown,
which so far, I think, was quite abnormal and overflowing.
What are the future plans of ESC?
India is going to be the super power in the IT field. The
future plans include providing an incubation facility for
start-ups like infrastructure, appointing liaison officers
to co-ordinate the meetings with foreign delegates, provide
facilities to meet all company representatives and foreign
delegates under one roof .
So don't lose hope yet - there are plenty of opportunities
for you young IT professionals.
Smitha Paulson
Pics: Ravindra Nayak |
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9:10:48 PM 
