Technology has brought us greater freedom - Nandan Nilekani

Do you think technology (in an Indian context) has brought us greater freedom?

Yes, it has helped level the playing field for India in the global arena. In a way, it has transformed India by providing a new vision to the country and liberating its populace. I believe rural India’s need for knowledge empowerment can be addressed using technology. The telecom revolution has really ensured that people in every part of India are able to connect with each other and with the external world. Now, we have leapfrogged to the next stage where mobile phones and the Internet are revolutionising the Indian consumer and corporations.

Also, what technology has done for the Indian corporation is remarkable. Competing in the industry is no longer limited to a privileged few. Technology has brought forward a whole new set of entrepreneurs who are ensuring that India gets her right place in the world. From an employment perspective, it has raised the standard of living of the average middle-class Indian. The IT& ITES industry has enabled the middle-class Indian to go after bigger dreams. It has also indirectly created many more job opportunities.

Do you believe companies today can access and develop technology more easily than before?

Yes, the liberalisation process definitely made technology ubiquitous. The Indian IT-ITES sector (including the domestic and exports segments) is expected to exceed $47.8 billion in annual revenue in FY07, an increase of nearly 28% in the current fiscal.

Additionally, with the growth in Indian economy and favourable policies, leading MNCs are looking to India as an attractive market for their products and technologies, and are targeting the Indian consumer.

We have taken the lead in developing technology cheaper, faster and better. Therefore, it is an area that provides us with lots of opportunities.

Why do you think Indian companies still do not invest significantly in developing or acquiring technology?

I believe we are progressing on this front. Indian companies do not invest significantly because their propensity for risk is not high. Developing technology requires up front capital investments and a nurturing period before you can realise huge profits. The gestation period is longer. However, the growth is non-linear in the sense that once the technology succeeds , your margins are much higher.

Today’s customer is increasingly demanding and therefore the companies need innovative concepts to address the diverse requirements of a large customer base. We have seen
increased access to capital for developing technology in India through venture capitalists. We hope to see more and more Indian companies adopting technology to compete in the flat world.

If you had to pick one technology (say mobile phones or the Internet) then which one, in your mind, has brought Indians more freedom?

Both have an important role to play in empowering the average Indian.

The Internet has opened the world to India and brought in greater awareness and the accompanying benefits of globalisation . Today, India has over 70 million
Internet users, of which nearly 2 million have broadband connections. With Indians buying over a million computers every year and computer education now an essential part of primary and secondary school curricula, young Indians are becoming intimately familiar with the medium and the associated technologies.The growth of the Internet has opened up new businesses like online travel booking and e-banking . The Internet is also actively fuelling the government’s e-governance initiatives such as online filing of tax returns.

The telecom boom we are experiencing in India today is opening up new opportunities for Indians. About 5 million new telephone connections are added in India every month. With over 130 million users, mobile phones are bridging the communication divide between urban and rural India by connecting people across the country.

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