Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Life after Dewang: a tough trek ahead for Nasscom

NetScribes/Abhijit Basu

The sudden demise of Dewang Mehta, president of Nasscom, has put a huge question mark over the future of the organisation.

Without its most high-profile spokesperson, the apex body of the Indian software industry suddenly finds at a crossroads of sorts: Where does it go from here? What should it do next?

Already, the association is caught in a debate over Mehta's successor. The post of the president of Nasscom is a full-time one and cannot be taken up by someone who already has a company to run.

The new president would also need to have the charisma and competence to live up to the high standards set by his predecessor.

Which is why Nasscom has set up a committee to decide the matter. The panel's report is expected within a week.

Although many likely names are doing the rounds, including that of Arun Kumar, vice-chairman of Nasscom and managing director of Hughes Software Systems, and Omkar Goswami, advisor to the Confederation of Indian Industry, it will be some time before somebody finally lands the coveted job.

"It would be foolish to get a successor in a hurry as that could mess up things for the entire industry. Nasscom should approach it the way a company looks for a new CEO. They could appoint a large consultancy firm to headhunt for a new president. Also, the new individual will have a legacy to live up to, and that could be a tough task," says an industry observer.

Nasscom chairman Phiroz Vandrevala is reported to have said that the association is keeping all options open at this juncture and even an individual currently not located in India could not be ruled out.

The association's job doesn't end with finding a new president. There's much more to do. Where does Nasscom go from here? How should it evolve itself to suit the changing needs and realities of the IT sector? Should it look beyond software and associate itself with the larger concerns of the entire IT industry?

In fact, there has been much talk about the last point in recent times. A combined IT association for the country, in place of separate hardware and software lobbies, doesn't seem like a bad idea, especially since that's the way it is globally.

Of late, Nasscom has widened its horizons to include non-software companies and venture capital firms, giving rise to further speculation that it might eventually merge with the Manufacturers' Association of Information Technology, the representative body of the country's hardware industry.

With MAIT also expanding its portfolio to solutions and VC firms, there has been much overlap in these associations' areas of operations.

After Mehta's death, the industry is once again agog with rumours of a possible merger between Nasscom and MAIT.

However, Nasscom chairman Vandrevala denies any such move. "We would not like to dilute Nasscom in any way," he says.

"If you look at in terms of technological feasibility, it does make sense. Today, there is a need to promote the entire IT industry as a whole and one industry body would make sense. However, the ground realities are quite different, and there is no merger of MAIT and Nasscom in the offing," says MAIT director Vinnie Mehta.

Interestingly, Nasscom was born out of MAIT after a few members decided that the software industry should have its own lobbying outfit.

However, a re-merger looks remote even as the two associations promise to continue to co-ordinate the way they have been trying to in the past.

As the Indian IT industry finds its place in a world of desperate slowdowns and dazzling successes, the job of these associations will only get tougher.

For Nasscom, it will be more difficult, considering the recent spate of setbacks.

So, here's wishing the new Nasscom president, whoever he is, a whole lot of luck. Leading an industry from the throes of a recession may be a hard task, fitting into Mehta's shoes may be harder still.

YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO SEE:
Nasscom chief Dewang Mehta is dead
'I am so alone…'
'I am saddened. He was such a close friend,' says Mahajan
'Dewang Mehta is irreplaceable'
'Dewang personified what India's IT industry really needed'
'His passion increases every year'
'A hat-trick IT Budget'
'IT Bill will boost e-commerce'
Dewang Mehta is 'Global Leader of Tomorrow'
Nasscom 2001: The complete coverage

Money

Business News

Tell us what you think of this report