While we have many engineers, a lot of them unfortunately are B- and C-grade. we will need to focus on skilling, reskilling, unlearning, and relearning, said KEONICS chairman and MLA Sharath Bachegowda.
Published Oct 05, 2024 | 9:30 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 07, 2024 | 6:12 PM
Sharat Bachegowda and Professor Narayanan at the Dakshin Dialogues 2024. (South First)
The third edition of South First’s Dakshin Dialogues-2024 on “People & Technology: Governance for Tomorrow” was held in Hyderabad on Saturday, 5 October.
As part of the summit, a panel discussion on “Skill Gap and Employability” was organised. Congress’ Hosakote MLA and KEONICS chairman Sharath Bachegowda, and IIIT Hyderabad’s Director Prof PJ Narayanan were the panelists in the session moderated by Prof Ramesh Loganathan of IIIT Hyderabad.
The panelists with contrasting yet complementary perspectives shed light on the widening gap between the skills demanded by modern industries and the preparedness of India’s workforce.
MLA Bachegowda, with his engineering experience in Switzerland, highlighted the significant mismatch between job opportunities and available talent.
“Despite thousands of job seekers registering at a recent job fair, only a small fraction could be placed,” he said, underscoring the urgent need for an interdisciplinary approach to education.
He emphasized the importance of blending technology with fields like liberal arts and commerce, reflecting the interconnectedness of today’s industries and the need for a more versatile workforce.
With decades of academic experience, Prof Narayanan reinforced this view, noting that while India boasts of top-tier researchers on par with global standards, the average academic output lags far behind.
He argued for increased investment in research and development to unlock the country’s full potential. Drawing attention to AI, he explained how it could be a major enabler, but only if educational institutions equip students with the skills to adapt, learn, and innovate in an ever-evolving tech landscape.
Together, Bachegowda and Prof Narayanan framed the session as a critical conversation on addressing the skill gap, emphasizing the need for more forward-thinking education and the potential for AI to drive both industry and societal progress.
MLA Sharat Bachegowda began by stating that South Indian states share a lot of common values, morals, and work ethics.
“Historically, we have always placed a strong emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, and we take pride in the achievements of luminaries like Srinivasa Ramanujan and Sir M Visvesvaraya. We celebrate our ‘geeks,’ and they are aspirational figures for us,” Bachegowda noted.
Quoting Roman philosopher Seneca, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” Bachegowda claimed, “We live in fortunate times because years of preparation have set the stage for success.”
“Southern states contribute about 60 percent of India’s exports, and 2 million out of 5.4 million people employed in the IT sector come from southern states,” added Bachegowda.
“Bengaluru alone exports $64 billion in IT exports, while Hyderabad exports $19 billion. We’ve laid the foundation—now, we must seize the opportunity presented by the current geopolitical landscape, demographic dividend, and our vibrant democracy,” Bachegowda added.
Asked what should India do differently to continue to grow, Bachegowda said that there is plenty of room to grow.
“The global IT industry is worth $9 trillion, and we contribute only $190 billion to that. We are almost an order of magnitude away from our full potential. Even in IT services, which is a $1.9 trillion industry, we contribute only $120 billion. There is still plenty of untapped potential.”
“The demographic dividend is there, and we can still tap into 90% of the market. The West may be mature, but there are still many services to be developed. Software life cycles, which used to take three years, are now reduced to a year and a half.”
Bachegowda reiterated that technology, especially AI will play a vital role in the future, noting, “The types of jobs and nature of work will change dramatically, particularly with the rise of AI. ”
He added, “AI is both an enabler and a disruptor. While it’s exciting to consider its potential, AI hasn’t fully delivered on its promises yet. But that doesn’t mean it won’t.”
“In the next five to ten years, we will need to focus on skilling, reskilling, unlearning, and relearning. Around 85 percent of electronics designed and manufactured in India are for the Western world. When will we start manufacturing for India? When will India have its own Intel or AMD?” Bachegowda stressed for increase in manufacturing for India.
“R and D is the top of the pyramid. While we have many engineers, a lot of them unfortunately are B- and C-grade. What we need more are A-grade tradesmen or technicians to fill the bottom of the pyramid,” emphasized Bachegowda.
Speaking on the lack of quality research and solutions in India, Prof PJ Narayanan noted, “In Indian academia, we have peaks of excellence, but the average output is far below global standards. The few researchers who are at the top are recognized globally, but the average PhD or researcher does not perform at that level.”
“Unfortunately, policymakers often look at these peaks and assume that we are just a few years away from dominating certain fields, but that’s not the case.”
“The problem is that while the peaks are high, the average is low, and this disparity clouds our vision. We need far more investment in R&D. India currently spends only 0.6 percent of its GDP on research, which is woefully inadequate,” Narayanan stressed for more investment.
He continued: “Southern states like Karnataka have been pioneers in STEM education, establishing hundreds of engineering colleges, starting in the early 1980s. This investment is paying off today, with the south leading in tech-related industries.”
“Kerala, despite its political backlash against private education, began allowing private engineering colleges only in the 1990s. Until then, Kerala had just eight colleges. Today, we’re reaping the benefits of that decision,” pointed out the IIIT Hyderabad’s director.
“India’s demographic dividend is real, but it will only be beneficial if we allow young people to reach their full potential. If we provide poor education, this dividend could become a demographic time bomb,” cautioned Narayanan.
“The National Education Policy (NEP) is a step in the right direction, but as always, the devil is in the details. It’s not just about having a good design or curriculum; it’s about how it is implemented. The challenge is to ensure that it benefits every student. In India, even the best plumbers often earn more than average engineers, which highlights the unfortunate disparity in skill levels,” added the professor.
Stepping in, Bachegowda pointed out: “There is also a lack of industry-academia interaction in India. In countries like the US, internships are mandatory during semester breaks, exposing students to industry practices. Our curriculum, unfortunately, focuses more on rote learning and marks rather than on project-based, problem-solving approaches.”
Emphasising on the need for an interdisciplinary approach, Bachegowda said, “We need an interdisciplinary approach, where students are trained to think critically and solve problems. In the future, job titles like ‘engineer’ or ‘designer’ will be replaced with ‘problem solver.’ We are already seeing how technology is blending into every aspect of life—from fintech to gaming and virtual reality.”
Further, the panel moved to the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the panellists weighing in on the pros and cons, and the way ahead.
Sharath Bachegowda pointed out: “AI and generative AI (GenAI) are here to stay. Google searches for GenAI increased seven-fold between 2022 and 2023, which shows the growing curiosity. AI offers great potential to solve real-world problems in India.”
“In Karnataka, for instance, we have a WhatsApp-based chatbot called Panchamitra, where AI could add value. Furthermore, AI could also help in healthcare with remote diagnosis, where it could evaluate reports and refer patients to higher treatment centres.”
“We have a wealth of data and tools like cloud computing make it accessible. Initiatives like Digilocker, which has 156 million users, have made a big impact. What we develop here in India can also be easily scaled to countries like those in Africa, which are looking for cost-effective solutions,” added the Congress lawmaker.
Noting that AI is not just hype, Bachegowda claimed, “AI has the potential to reduce human effort in areas like writing instruction manuals or improving government transparency. Imagine using AI to handle Right to Information (RTI) requests—responses could be generated almost instantly, greatly reducing the time and effort required.”
The panel further discussed the possibilities of building technologies using AI for the world in emerging areas.
Prof Narayanan noted: “Generative AI (GenAI) has generated a lot of hype, but as Bill Gates once said, we tend to overestimate the impact of technology in the short term and underestimate it in the long term. Right now, GenAI is in the phase of being overestimated. People believe it will change the world immediately, but while it’s a good game and has attracted significant investment, it hasn’t yet delivered on all its promises.”
“However, AI is different because it democratizes processes. Unlike CPUs or operating systems, which are limited in number and use globally. AI allows us to build solutions tailored to our specific communities and needs. The sheer scale of Indian society offers a vast scope for AI applications. The solutions we need in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka will be different because each region has unique dynamics,” highlighted the IIIT director.
Reiterating his point on the overestimation of impact in the short term, Prof Narayanan said, “In the last five to eight years, we’ve seen a startup revolution in India. Initially, there was a belief that startups would become billion-dollar companies within five years, focusing on markets like California.”
“However, now the focus is increasingly on solving India’s problems. Companies like Infosys cannot operate at the price points needed for local solutions, but startups can. Despite AI requiring large investments in hardware, the potential for solving local problems is immense,” added Prof Narayanan.
Sharath Bachegowda responding on the issue of skill gap claimed that the problem was in fact of skill mismatch.
“While there is talk about a skill gap, I believe the issue is more about a skill mismatch. We recently conducted a job fair with 23,000 job openings, and 17,000 people registered, but we could only place 1,500 candidates. This isn’t due to a lack of skills, but rather a mismatch between the skills available and those required.”
“The pace of technological change means that disciplines like humanities, liberal arts, commerce, and economics need to blend with technology. This interdisciplinary approach is crucial if education is to remain relevant in the future,” stressed Bachegowda.
Prof Narayanan responding to the same observed, “Today, engineers and IT professionals are not just techies anymore—they are problem solvers. At IIIT Hyderabad, our students are developing apps and solutions that are being used by everyone. Design teams now need to consider societal impact much more than before.”
“Ergonomics in engineering once limited to automobile design, is now applied at a societal level, considering how people will react to different interfaces. Good information can spread quickly and be helpful during disasters, but bad information can also spread just as fast and create unrest.”
“This makes it essential for engineers and tech developers to be aware of the social implications of what they build. For example, today’s social media companies employ ethicists and sociologists as part of their design teams—something that wasn’t done when Facebook was created,” the IIIT director added that techies are not pure techies anymore.
On addressing the gap between academia and industry, Narayanan said: “Each sector has its role to play. At institutions like IIIT Hyderabad, we tell our students that our responsibility is to prepare them not just for their first job, but for their last job—even at the age of 60.”
“The skills they learn today should enable them to adapt and change careers later in life. This is the true measure of success for an academic institution: ensuring that students can continue learning and evolving throughout their careers,” added the IIIT Hyderabad’s director.
Dakshin Dialogues 2024 was presented by KarPing in association with Governments of Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Karnataka along with Ichor Biologics, Start up Karnataka, ELCOT, K-Tech with IIIT-Hyderabad as knowledge partners.
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula).
