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China closing in on India's tech lead

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE: China is closing in on India's leadership in technology outsourcing, the chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's largest listed software exporter, said.



N.R. Narayana Murthy, who founded Nasdaq-listed Infosys more than two decades ago, said that China's strengths in manufacturing could be an added asset.



"There is considerable domain expertise. I think it is just a little bit of English and the area of project management (where China needs to catch up)," Murthy told a news conference to launch an industry partnership with engineering colleges.



"I think the current difference is about three years."



Indian industry officials have said that China needs between five and 10 years to match Indian expertise in executing software projects that combine industry consulting with coding, design and management skills.



China's software exports are less than one-fifth of India's $12.5 billion, which are growing around 30 percent per year. But the world's most populous nation is trying to build the capacity to compete with India's huge, low-cost English-speaking workforce.



"China is making extraordinary efforts in bridging the gap in English," Murthy said, adding that a strong presence of computer hardware in China could help the country move forward.



More than 60 percent of Indian software exports are to the United States, aided by English skills rooted in British colonial rule.



Infosys said it would invest 100 million rupees ($2.2 million) in a partnership to align computer and engineering colleges with industry needs and fund research in a social initiative to help feed its own demand for technology workers.



Infosys employs nearly 28,000 people and plans to hire some 7,500 more in the financial year to March 2005.



An employee grounded in the sponsored initiative as a student could be trained for half the cost upon joining Infosys, officials said.



Emphasizing efforts to boost infrastructure and skills, Murthy said countries such as Mexico, Brazil and the Philippines were also potential threats to India's edge in outsourcing.



"If we want to grow on a sustained basis, we have to be ahead of the competitors," Murthy said.

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