Supam Maheshwari, the founder and CEO and also one of the main architect behind the Brainvisa vision, in an interview with Arunima Nath of CyberMedia News, says India is shining and will continue to shine – as far as e-learning is concerned.

What are your views on e –learning?

The e – learning industry is still in its infancy. It is just seven to eight-year-old business model and lots of new inventions are taking place in this field. The worldwide economic growth is driving the employee cost, which in turn is going to fuel the need to provide training increase productivity. Thus e- learning will get to play a crucial part in the whole scenario.

How big is the E – learning market and what is the share of the Indian players?

It is an emerging market and it will take time to grow and achieve its potential. Right now NIIT is the biggest player followed by Tata Interactive. Though it is difficult to define market share, still Brainvisa is in the third place. Globally the E – learning market is about 30 billion dollar, out of which India has a meager share of 150 million dollar. The situation is so as there are no major contracts in India and will take its own time to grow.

Is there any big difference between Indian e-learning initiatives and the foreign ones? What is your view on “Brand India”?

There is no big difference. The Indian companies are as competitive, creative, innovative and focused as their foreign counterparts. Right now India is shining and would continue to shine, as more and more work would flow in. Now it's a compulsion for the foreign players to come shake hand with us due our competitive and skilled workforce.

What are the compelling reasons for clients to outsource their work to India?

In e –learning it is crucial to understand the culture and language of the target group for better designing of the course. Also it is very hard to find dedicated workforce in this field other than India. Though come eastern European countries are picking up the trade techniques but still India remains a strong contender.

E – learning courses have been chiefly based on flash, what kinds of innovation are being done in Ee– learning?

Well, flash exhibits and facilitates to built a more focused solutions. Thus it remains the most favored with 95% of the market using it.

What is the annual revenue of Brainvisa, the rate of growth and employee base?

This is Brainvisa's sixth year in operation. Right now we have an employee base of 400 people and the growth rate is 500% per year.

What are your views on the attrition rate in the industry and what kind of steps need to be taken?

The rate of attrition in the industry is some where around 16 to 18%, which is not a big concern for us. To stem attrition companies should stick to their policies and deliver to the employees what has been promised to them. Companies should learn to have good policies. They also should invest and hire the right person only.

What needs to be done for promotion of e – learning in India?

It will take its own time in India. Budget needs to be allocated with increased bandwidth to facilitate faster connectivity. Everybody concerned needs to give it a serious thought.

With literacy rate over 50 –54% is there a big opportunity for e –learning in India?

There is potential but no one is bothered to use it. Someone needs to budget and plan it. There is no governmental initiative in this regard. The basic infrastructure for e- learning is lacking. In Singapore e – learning programme is used to train taxi drivers.

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