Experts submit blueprint on making India software product nation

A blueprint to develop India as a software product nation was submitted to Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad here Tuesday.

"As the software product industry is an enabler for many other industries like defence, electronics and communications, its healthy growth brings endless opportunities and transform the country," Indian Software Products Industry Roundtable (iSPIRT) member Sharad Sharma told the minister.

The blueprint envisages setting up of about 100,000 software product firms across the country with a potential to generate direct and indirect jobs to a whopping 3.5 million people with a market value of $500 billion in a decade.

"We should aim to create the next Facebook, Google or Whatsup in the country, with a clear role for software products in shaping core sectors of the economy, including agriculture, education, healthcare and bring efficiencies and cost benefits to the masses," Sharma said.

Lauding the software industry for its vibrancy and promoting entrepreneurs to build products, Prasad said the government was committed to take software products and services to tier-two and tier-three cities across the country.

"This is my first official trip to Bangalore after assuming office to meet software industry entrepreneurs and urge them to support the nation-building efforts of the Modi government," Prasad told members of the iSPIRT Foundation.

Manipal Group of Education chairman and former Infosys director T.V. Mohandas Pai explained how software product firms solve the country's critical problems.

Tally Solutions founder chief executive Bharat Goenka highlighted policy initiatives that could transform the industry and lift the performance of 30 million small and medium enterprises, besides creating a thriving start-up environment, generate jobs and build a multi-billion dollar market.

"The emerging Indian software product industry has made a global impact with companies like Zoho, InMobi, Tally and QuickHeal creating an enviable market leadership in their segments. A billion dollar company by valuation is created almost every year," Goenka said.

Of late, hundreds of innovative techies are leaving IT services and joining the software product start-up ecosystem. With 15-20 percent of engineering graduates from marquee colleges joining software product firms, the country has the potential to emerge as a global software product industry leader as in the case of software services.