The architect of India's Aadhaar, Nilekani, delivered keynote address on Friday around the theme Adaptive Advantage, saying that the rising attrition is a concern for the tech companies and that they need to invest in reskilling and employee engagement while taking stock of the rising situation.
During the September quarter of Q2 FY 22 all four major IT service providers, including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL, had reported a spike in attrition rates, with industry witnessing a major war of talent, especially for digital skills. According to Market Intelligence firm, UnearthInsight, the IT industry has doubled down on hiring freshers with approximately 2.5 lakh college graduates on board in FY 22.
As a co-founder of Infosys, he said that tech industry growth will also create opportunities for employment in other sectors and in a post-pandemic environment, every company will have to offer roles for digital technology profiles.
Digital needs will be felt by enterprises across sectors in this global war for talent. Companies will have to change their HR practices, recognise talent, promote a culture of bonding and people-first strategy. He said that a culture of continuous learning, reskilling, being on top of developments, recognising the credentials of employees with promotions and compensations will result in a culture of adaptability.
Nilekani laid down three parameters that will give impetus to the fast-growing digital economy. A strong double-digit revenue growth forecast from the IT service providers will be the first crucial factor in helping the economy grow, according to the technologist. He cited the rising number of unicorns and start-ups listing successfully on stock exchanges as a key to job creation and economic growth. Nilekani said that the regulatory changes in China have been an advantage for India with capital flowing in for new-age companies.
The creation of a public digital infrastructure like Aadhaar, which allows digital identification and linkage with the bank accounts, and the United Payments Interface UPI, which has now become the fastest mode of payment, surpassing 4.3 billion transactions in October and amount to $100 billion in value, is the third significant factor, according to the Infosys co-founder.
I see account aggregation as a next big innovation in India linked to digital public infrastructure where the users, including small Kirana shops retailers, will have easy access to credit lender by leveraging their personal data, said Nilekani.