'US, UK to face manpower crunch by 2020'

The major economies around the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom, will fall short of human resources by 2020 and they would turn to India to 'import' human power from the country, according to National Association of Software and Service Companies president Kiran Karnik.

"The high population in India, which was thought to be its bane will, in turn, become its boon," said Karnik, who was speaking a seminar jointly organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and National Institute of Industrial Engineering in Mumbai on Friday.

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The country's population, which had been a reason for ridicule, would come to its rescue, he said, adding, 'body shopping' would become a preferred trend, resulting in a win-win situation to the importer and India.

Talking about manufacturing in India, he said: "The future is bright for 'Made in India' brand," and added that designs would be more in demand than software and programming skills.

The Nasscom president also said that 'India Inside' or 'Conceived in India' "would drive the country's growth."

Elaborating on India Inside, Karnik said that even though the brand names would point to companies other than India, the product would be thought of, conceived and designed in India.

Earlier, inaugurating the seminar, titled 'An Indian Evolution, A Global Revolution?' Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi said India needs to focus on three  capabilities -- innovation, volume generation and globalisation -- to emerge as the leading nation by 2020.

He also called for a strong fiscal policy, power reforms and a special emphasis on provisions for institutional finance, apart from thrust on infrastructure and roping in foreign direct investment.

"We also need directions from educationists and policy leaders," Joshi said, and cited the example of Bharat heavy Electricals Ltd, which has carved a name for itself in the international market.