That is understandable because, during the colonial rule, what western leaders thought of us mattered more to us than the idea of our self-worth. In that sense, our self-esteem was not routed in the fundamental value we created but depended instead on endorsements by others. Through the cold war, we lived with a peeve of neglect from Washington and the loss of Oval Approval meant everything from the loss of US aid to unreasonable restraint on weapon purchase. In that background, the recent articulation by President Barack Obama has caused media stir in India on what could happen if the US took back tax-cuts from companies that “ship jobs overseas”.
In today’s world of globally distributed intelligence, what is a job, who does a job, where a job gets done and sometimes when and how the job is done is beyond the world of a self-contained factory of the 20th century. Take the Apple iPod. On its packaging, all that is written is, "Designed in California". Not even the United States. So, where is the job? What is the job? Only Steve Jobs knows!
Today's products involve multiple technologies that get concurrently ideated and developed in many parts of the world, they are tested in a distributed manner, component manufactured in different countries, assembled in some country, warehoused in yet another and shipped by logistics companies from elsewhere that then deliver them all over the world. So, a simplistic world view of localised employment is a thing of the past. The genie is out of the bottle.
Jobs must travel
Goods and services originating from the iPod to the Washington apple to life insurance and logistics must be sold all over the world for the US economy to get back into shape. It is not just goods and services. In today's world, one cannot separate jobs from goods and services. If goods and services must travel, so must jobs. Statements and intent of protectionism do not work in silos. You cannot say, I will keep all my jobs in one place and make my goods and services travel. They must all be treated in the same way. If Indians must eat Mac Tikkis, Americans must consume Indian software design. That is the new world reality. The only way to survive in this new world is by being competitive, smart, innovative and ahead of the trend. That rule applies to all of us uniformly.
If Pepsi and Coke have to remain competitive in their home turf, they better sell to Indians in India. If Boeing must stay afloat, it better fly the Indian skies. If Microsoft and IBM and Dell and HP must continue their global dominance, they have to tap into Indian brain power. That paradigm will not change in the foreseeable future.
Indian IT comes of age
Given this new reality, Indians need to demonstrate greater self-confidence. Indian IT industry is no longer a toddler. We have come of age and in the last three decades we have learnt how to cope with non-tariff barriers in the minimum to discriminatory social practices in the maximum. The industry is today acknowledged as adding disproportionate value to the world and as long as we stay focused on that, there is no reason why the world would not partner with us. We are to the world today, what Japan has been to the automotive industry. Indian IT industry is no longer an aspiration; it is a promise delivered. Today, not engaging with Indian high-tech and scientific community is a matter of competitive disadvantage for any nation. This is not a statement of bravado. It is data.
That said, just the same way that steel fled the US, software could flee India. The rust belt of Philadelphia is a grim reminder that ceasing to add new value can see shift in regional and national competitive advantage. If India does not fix its urban decay, pervasive corruption, institutional failure and social unrest, we could well undo the hard-earned position of self-confidence without President Obama's posturing.
So, while we must caution the US against going overboard on an electoral pledge based on simplistic understanding of evolutionary economic theory,
we must stay focused on adding value; disproportionate value and unusual
new value.
(The writer is a co-founder of MindTree,
where he is vice-chairman on the board. )