Dewang Mehta: The catalyst who lives on

INDIA: "India has all the requisites to emerge as the software super power of the 21st century."

To think of these powerful words was courageous enough back then. To utter them aloud and with confidence, spoke of much intellectual muscle and resilient brawn.

But a man, born in a small town of Umreth in Gujarat was here for thinking big. The love for the soil came organically to him, and he sure carried it forward in unthought-of of ways as he grew in stature and to new heights.

The big churn of change started in 1991 when industry veteran Harish Mehta put him at the front seat of Nasscom, an association that was to work for the cause of a young software industry. 

Luckily for the industry, his presence was much more than a part time role he hesitatingly accepted at the onset.

One can gauge his sharp vision and strengths from the lines of an interview with Beena N, where he boldly remarked how American slowdown could mean an Indian speed up.

As he said: "Our objective is to convert the situation (US economy slowdown) into an opportunity "

He could see part the immediate scene. And he could wipe out the fog into a clear bright opportunity as the Industry soon saw.

He also warned Indian IT behemoths that most of the Indian IT companies were providing services rather than being product focused and how they are not household names.

The view that Indian IT software and service industry was still in its nascent stage, made him stir into new ideas and action plans.

This pioneer could very early, envision a scenario where India could play well its strengths of its technology talent and skilled IT manpower.

But his biggest contribution, as many experts reckon is the point when he laid the foundation for what became India's most powerful growth engine-the country's IT-BPO sector.

Mehta would be known for his suave approach in escorting Indian IT into global corridors. He was the harbinger who pushed India's software and services exports into a forward direction, wherein the industry could turn into a significant contributor to the country's GDP.

His recipe hinged on innovation, and as soon as he spurred innovation as the key goal for the IT-BPO sector, the whole ecosystem and atmosphere changed.

Through the platform of NASSCOM, he pioneered many initiatives. The chief among them was etching India as a brand in the international milieu.

The right diplomacy, the right networking and the right interface with global government functionaries and policy makers, did the job in a very short span of time to everyone's surprise and it was something, though seemingly simple, something that not many could have thought of or executed.

His panache continued exhibiting industry's capabilities in global exhibitions and conferences, where he created a compelling visibility for the industry across the globe. He was probably one of the few odd ones out in this intelligent universe to have a strong fascination with Bollywood, something he also used for the cause of software industry at multiple times, during his interactions with Bollywood entities.

Not to forget the way he advocated the cause of small and medium sized players within the industry, enabling them to find a voice, gain recognition and concessions that would improve their global competitiveness.

A really significant spur from him came in the way he whipped up notable government engagement. Due to this, for the first time, one could see how industry and government worked to create policy frameworks and a regulatory environment that was conducive to the growth of the nascent IT-BPO industry.

As has been noted by many industry watchers, it was his approach that made software come off the back burners of Indian government's plate.

His cooperative posture with IT related departments like DoE, the DoT, the VSNL or the Ministry of Information Technology, made him win the right respect, enough elbow room and the right concessions.He championed many changes and rationalisation of tax and duty structures. Mehta also created SEZs, and specific policies to promote the expansion and diversification of the industry.

Not the one to miss the sharp fine print that could have future implications, he ensured to bolster Copyright protection in India. An IT law with more teeth was announced, to draw the world's largest IT companies into the country, NASSCOM too underlines.

No matter who was in power, software always received special treatment, as someone rightly observed.

For instance, in an interview he had remarked RBI's move on EEFC is hasty; not in line with India's liberalisation policy'. He had argued how the Reserve Bank of India's directive to exporters to pare the balance in their Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency account by 50 per cent had evoked protests from various quarters.

As NASSCOM president, he had joined other Indian exporters in terming the RBI's directive 'hasty' and 'arbitrary'. "It's not in line with the liberalisation policy adopted by India and will only encourage artificial price mechanism," he had said, without mincing any words.

More examples like zero duty on software imports, crucial income tax concessions for software exporters, stringent Copyright Laws, introduction of the IT Act and consequent cyber laws, illustrate his confident strides and contributions

The way he chalked well the slogan "Roti, Kapda, Makaan and Bandwidth" making it storm its way into the political leadership is enough to tell what courage, vision and execution-legerdemain he owned.

Dewang Mehta in a quintessential sense laid the foundation for a resilient software sector. 

He also had a blueprint for the IT industry and how it could be used effectively to change the lives of India's destiny. For him, the benefits of IT had to peter down to the grass root levels.

Poise and precision were his hallmarks and one can unarguably conclude that his epitaph almost reads like the renaissance story of Indian IT and BPO industry.

He had a dream that he launched well into the sky, like an eternal kite floating confidently to win.