Nasscom President Som Mittal tells Ashok Kumar of Indianexpress.com how there is a good future for the Indian IT sector, once the current crisis in the Wall Street market is over.

How is Wall Street fallout going to affect the Indian IT sector?

Stock markets impact sentiments. Though the Government of the United States has come with a $700 billion bailout, it is too early to say what impact will it exactly have on the Indian IT sector.

We still have to wait and watch the situation, before we come to any analytical conclusion. But of course, companies will go for steps such as more careful hiring.

Is there a possibility, that the sub-prime crises could be advantageous to the Indian IT sector in any way?

We are not looking at the current crisis as an opportunity. But, this crisis has led us to a serious thinking on, how we can be more productive and efficient. We are being more competitive now and looking at newer ways to manage uncertain times.

Once the situation of the market improves in the United States, they (foreign companies) will revamp their business. This revamping will require them to set up the IT infrastructure, which will in turn get business to our IT companies.

Is there a lesson to be learned by the Indian IT sector from the current market crisis?

Not only the current market crisis, we can learn from the uncertainties in other areas such as prices of oil, gas and the inflation. Future of IT rests on unexplored areas. There is always a demand, and we need to focus on the un-penetrated verticals in old areas and the new areas.

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