Our capability centres turned into innovation hubs: Indian leaders at Davos

The global capability centres in India have transformed from being centres of cost arbitrage to global innovation hubs, Indian leaders said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

Speaking at a breakfast session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, they also said there should be a consistent focus on upskilling the Indian talent pool.

D Sridhar Babu, Telangana's Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications; Industries & Commerce, said, "The Government of Telangana is working to put young Indians in Skills' University for training, coaching and tutoring that is required to upskill and reskill employees as well as people who would like to know about new technologies..

This has already started, and it is absolutely industry-driven where the government only acts as a facilitator, he added.

Emphasising the importance of staying ahead in technological advancements, he said, "As the world is witnessing the next wave of revolution right now in terms of technology, India should be proud of the talent that we have, and we need to focus on how we move this talent to the next level."  "We have upscaled our talent to the next level and have become centres of innovation, and accelerators. Today, almost every state in India is in the drive for new technologies, operating technologies or developing centres of excellence. The Government of India over a period of 2-3 decades has introduced initiatives like Make in India and Digital India which have provided a big platform for each and every state to further move forward," he added.

Godrej Industries Chairman and Managing Director Nadir Godrej said, "India is strong in ESG and there is much progress in green energy. The strong startup ecology of the nation is an opportunity for collaboration. Academia, government and industry can collaborate on new technology. If all of us go to full length, GCCs will go from strength to strength.

PwC India Chairperson Sanjeev Krishan said, "GCCs in India emerged because of cost arbitrage but it is no longer the case now. Moreover, there have been very significant efforts being made to make sure that inclusivity and wholesome growth is achieved to make sure that GCC is spread across the country".

Talking about potential areas of collaboration, Girish P Ramachandran, President-Growth Markets at Tata Consultancy Services, said, "Countries across the globe can collaborate with India and India's skill development initiatives like the Skill India Mission and partner with Indian academic institution.

Besides, GCCs are no longer limited only to tier one cities and we have huge amounts of talent holding across the whole country; and India's leadership and digital transformation makes it an ideal location for all to invest in the country, he added..

"So, as we continue to grow, innovate and lead, India's GCCs will remain central to driving our global progress," he said.