I align deeply with the concern. I do however have a slightly different perspective:
1/ India hasn't missed the tech bus yet. AI and LLMs are strategic assets like jet engines - we must use available tools while building indigenous capabilities to ensure technological sovereignty.
2/ Our innovation handicap stems from limited global exposure. We need to shift from mere risk-taking to fostering curiosity and experimentation, consistently questioning why innovation patterns fail to emerge.
3/ To your point, I think even within IT majority folks don't really have a good domain / customer understanding. And yes, a big reason is the workload. Hopefully, GCC story will pan out differently and not be one of easy-money story like in IT.
4/ Industry must move beyond short-term tax relief requests toward substantial R&D investment. Successful Chinese firms maintain lower margins by reinvesting in innovation. If educating investors on valuing long-term R&D is necessary, we shouldn't hesitate.
5/ Most critically, we must stop degrading certain types of work. Being an assembly center is a viable starting point - China began there, gained exposure, and ruthlessly optimized for efficiency, building innovation muscle along the way. This represents the fundamental difference: they understand the dignity of labor at every level.
In recent times, I think software/services industry has much to learn from the on-going shift in aerospace and defence sector.
It is true that given the start we had, size of the industry and the sheer number of people that are part of this industry, we could do much better. While I agree with most of your points, I think we should also look at some success stories . Zoho being one . A completely homegrown product organisation competing with the likes of Salesforce is a huge achievement. Similarly there is Icertis, another homegrown product that boasts of some very strong logos as their customers. We must keep bringing these to mainstream discussion
Hi Ravi, I would say what you say is right but it is not just about IT Services not being able to move up the value chain and create a world beating product. This could apply to almost all industries- Automotives, Pharma and many more. Why are any of them happy to be India centric players ( if you call exporting to some African nation a real victory , then it's a sheer disappointment). Pharma companies are happy to be generics producers , they have not thought of creating any patented brands for the global markets. So i think it is possibly about the Indian mindset or contentment about what we have achieved as compared to Chinese who wanted to be world beaters and have done so by challenging the US hegemony in almost all the subjects over the past 30-40 years.
Your view just focuses on what Indian IT doesn’t do (build the next TikTok) but overlooks what it silently enables:
1. Seamless banking
2. Scalable telecom
3. Digital governance
4. Global IT stability
Indian IT is the plumbing of the modern digital world. It’s just that its impact is often invisible unless you know where to look.
Moreover the tone of the article is snobbishly elitist. Sorry to say but looking at Indian IT with such a condescending and one dimensional lens, you are not just missing the point but becoming part of the structural mindset that inhibits the very innovation you are demanding.
This just reminds me of the average user of apps who blatantly elevates snd raves about the “cool” and “sexy” UI but have no clue how the backend handles most of the stuff.
I think our nation needs to learn the art of taking risk while also doing away with the culture of complacency.
Copying/replicating startups from the west, lack of conviction in our capabilities and a deep seated inferiority with the West.
On manufacturing front, we haven’t cracked the code on R&D and large scale manufacturing.
In services, comfortably settling into offshore contracts.
I align deeply with the concern. I do however have a slightly different perspective:
1/ India hasn't missed the tech bus yet. AI and LLMs are strategic assets like jet engines - we must use available tools while building indigenous capabilities to ensure technological sovereignty.
2/ Our innovation handicap stems from limited global exposure. We need to shift from mere risk-taking to fostering curiosity and experimentation, consistently questioning why innovation patterns fail to emerge.
3/ To your point, I think even within IT majority folks don't really have a good domain / customer understanding. And yes, a big reason is the workload. Hopefully, GCC story will pan out differently and not be one of easy-money story like in IT.
4/ Industry must move beyond short-term tax relief requests toward substantial R&D investment. Successful Chinese firms maintain lower margins by reinvesting in innovation. If educating investors on valuing long-term R&D is necessary, we shouldn't hesitate.
5/ Most critically, we must stop degrading certain types of work. Being an assembly center is a viable starting point - China began there, gained exposure, and ruthlessly optimized for efficiency, building innovation muscle along the way. This represents the fundamental difference: they understand the dignity of labor at every level.
In recent times, I think software/services industry has much to learn from the on-going shift in aerospace and defence sector.
It is true that given the start we had, size of the industry and the sheer number of people that are part of this industry, we could do much better. While I agree with most of your points, I think we should also look at some success stories . Zoho being one . A completely homegrown product organisation competing with the likes of Salesforce is a huge achievement. Similarly there is Icertis, another homegrown product that boasts of some very strong logos as their customers. We must keep bringing these to mainstream discussion
Hi Ravi, I would say what you say is right but it is not just about IT Services not being able to move up the value chain and create a world beating product. This could apply to almost all industries- Automotives, Pharma and many more. Why are any of them happy to be India centric players ( if you call exporting to some African nation a real victory , then it's a sheer disappointment). Pharma companies are happy to be generics producers , they have not thought of creating any patented brands for the global markets. So i think it is possibly about the Indian mindset or contentment about what we have achieved as compared to Chinese who wanted to be world beaters and have done so by challenging the US hegemony in almost all the subjects over the past 30-40 years.
Wow! Such a pessimistic article indeed.
Your view just focuses on what Indian IT doesn’t do (build the next TikTok) but overlooks what it silently enables:
1. Seamless banking
2. Scalable telecom
3. Digital governance
4. Global IT stability
Indian IT is the plumbing of the modern digital world. It’s just that its impact is often invisible unless you know where to look.
Moreover the tone of the article is snobbishly elitist. Sorry to say but looking at Indian IT with such a condescending and one dimensional lens, you are not just missing the point but becoming part of the structural mindset that inhibits the very innovation you are demanding.
This just reminds me of the average user of apps who blatantly elevates snd raves about the “cool” and “sexy” UI but have no clue how the backend handles most of the stuff.