Salvaging Satyam crisis, finest hour of Nasscom: Harish Mehta
Startups to contribute $200 billion by 2027: Nasscom Chairman
Hyderabad, Dec. 13:
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has said that startups will play a big role in the country’s journey to become a $5-trillion economy.
NASSCOM Chairman Krishnan Ramanujam has said that the startup ecosystem is estimated to contribute $200 billion by 2027.
“After 50 years of its existence, the IT industry in the country now stands at $227 billion. But the startup ecosystem is emerging as a strong force,” he said
Addressing the fireside chat on ‘Unleashing the Maverick Mindset’ at the TiE Global Summit on Tuesday, he said the potential of startups was so huge that it reached the level of IT industry in far less time.
Talking on the journey of the IT industry in the country, Krishnan Ramanuam has said that the industry had shown that fierce competitors could come together and help the industry grow.
“IT also proved that industry associations can collaborate and talk with the government without compromising on ethics,” he said.
He said the Nasscom played a key role in resolving the Satyam crisis and rebuilding trust.
Nasscom’s finest movement
Harish Mehta, Chairman of Onward Technologies and author of the book Maverick Effect, said that salvaging the Satyam Computer Services crisis was the finest hour of Nasscom.
Harish was one of the founders of the IT association, which was established in 1988 to engage with the government and other ecosystem players.
Recounting the days following Satyam’s Collapse 13 years ago, he admitted that the initial opinion among the association leaders was it it was an internal issue and that the company had to deal with it.
“But it was about the reputation of the country. What will happen to the clients and the mission critical applications (that Satyam was taking care),” he said, revealing the behind-the-screen discussions.
“We (the association) talked to the Prime Minister and SEBI. The challenge was to keep the company alive for a couple of months. Can we keep it alive? A meeting was held how to do this before the government takes over,” he said.
Collective wisdoms of CEOs of Nasscom and their decision to sacrifice short-term gains helped the industry made the company survive for some time.
“It is the finest hour of Nasscom,” he summed up.
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