The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Trump can be blessing in disguise for Indian IT industry, says Ambani
WHILE THE world and the US are trying to adjust to the policies of US President Donald Trump, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said the US President is a blessing in disguise as his protectionist moves will get India’s IT industry to focus on solving local problems.
“Trump can actually be a blessing in disguise. The domestic IT industry can focus on solving problems right here, which is a huge market,” Ambani said at the three-day Nasscom Leadership Forum here on Wednesday. “We now have the infrastructure to make India one of the biggest software markets in the world. Trump’s measures will help Indian IT industry to focus on solving problems in India,” Ambani said.
“We have a very big advantage in this new world of digitisation. It’s very very important to be open, to have partnerships and not be closed. That is really a strength we should build on, and continue to be open and never think whatever the world changes. The world might want to build walls around. I think it is very important for us not to be influenced by those developments, to make sure that we are always open, always connected,” he said.
The $155-billion domestic IT industry nets over 65 per cent of its revenues from the US. On data and how it will shape India, Ambani said, “data is the new oil and Indians should not have scarcity of it in terms of quality, quantity or affordability.” He said India will move from a high value-low volume credit economy to a low value-high volume one, by leveraging technology in the next 12-18 months. “There are several people in rural areas who don’t get loans. I see that changing with the use of data that can analyse borrowers’ behaviour and help them get loans in 10-15 seconds,” Ambani said.
On the rising demand from developed world for protectionism, Ambani said the domestic industry should work on strengthening domestic capabilities. On the larger picture of helping millions to resolve their problems with adoption of digital technologies, he said digitalisation will continue to face challenges in terms of privacy, security and data thefts, but “with our very big advantages in the new world of digitisation, I am sure we can find solutions to our major problems”.
“There will be issues with security and privacy, but as long as we are clear on our end objectives, if we focus on our goal we will overcome the obstacles of security and privacy. While they will be important, but the goal of development, the goal of improving lives of hundreds of millions is the opportunity that we have to tap,” Ambani said.
He said Reliance Jio has already crossed 100-million customer milestone since its launch last September. WITHAGENCIES