OPPORTUNITIES IN PRODUCT SPACE: Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom (left), and Deepak Ghaisas, CEO, i-flex solutions, at a press conference in Bangalore on Tuesday. — Photo: G. R. N. Somashekar

BANGALORE: The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) on Tuesday urged the Central Government to provide access to the software industry to national laboratories like Aeronautical Development Agency for taking up research and development in areas like analog devices and high-end architectural, design and testing skills.

Speaking to newspersons here on the sidelines of the `Product Summit 2005,' organised by Nasscom in association with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Nasscom President Kiran Karnik said though the software industry was strong in conceptual and integration skills, it lacked the infrastructure to take up R & D in areas like analog devices.

He said if the Centre allowed software companies to utilise the infrastructure developed in specific areas like defence and other national scientific organisations, it would help the firms to counter the challenges to a great extent.

Mr Karnik said even though the country had emerged as a major player in software services and development activities over the last two decades, the indigenous software product sector was at an early stage of development. Software revenues from product sales, which were Rs. 800 crore in 1999, stood only at Rs. 1,860 crore at the end of 2005, he pointed out.

Mr. Karnik said the Indian product companies were facing financial burden with the new patent law and only 16 per cent of the software companies had patented their products and said the Centre should address this problem by floating a specific fund.

Mr. Karnik said the Government had a vital role to play in the development of the indigenous software product sector. Creation of seed investments, specialist support programmers and marketing network were required to support the sector.

Countries like Ireland, Israel, the U.K. and Singapore were all emerging as strong locations for software development and each of these countries had strong government intervention and support.

Deepak Ghaisas, CEO, i-flex solutions, and Prof. T. R. Madanmohan were also present on the occasion and expressed solidarity with Mr. Karnik on the issues of opportunities for Indian IT service players in the product space. — UNI

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