Nilekani walks a tight rope on rupee appreciation

Infosys CEO and managing director Nandan M Nilekani on Thursday said it is a fine balance on the rupee appreciating against the US dollar.

Speaking at the first of a series on the golden jubilee endowment lectures of the JSS Mahavidyapeetha in Mysore, he said: "The issue should be seen at the broad national level. It helps reduce inflation, about which the government is seriously concerned."

He further added that India did not feel the oil shock this time when the oil prices went up, as it had built up a good foreign exchange reserves. The country's imports were higher by about $57 billion over exports, and the IT sector and NRI remittances made good this shortfall by earning $30 billion and $24 billion, respectively.

"Foreign currency remittances and software exports have paid for oil imports. This has never happened," he remarked.

Nilekani foresees a bright future for biotechnology. Companies like Biocon were already faring well. People were becoming health conscious. Therefore, India has a huge opportunity in biotechnology in the next two decades.

He also welcomed foreign IT companies to set up shop in India because every year 10 million people are joining the workforce. As these companies are creating jobs, they need to be welcomed, he said.