Energy efficiency to dominate IT biz

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Even as the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has officially launched the Star-Rating program for Notebooks, a panel discussion organised by the MAIT (Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology) recently delved into the Star Ratings and stressed upon the need to save energy in the ICT sector in tandem with the phenomenal rise in device penetration.

Moderated by Pradeep Gupta, chairman and managing director of Cyber Media Group, the panelists included R.S Pawar, founder and chairman, NIIT; Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president, Canon India; and Ajai Chowdhry, chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems

Key highlights

Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president, Canon India:

India is evolving, and there is a colossal demand for energy. India is highly deficient country, and hunger for energy is coming from issues like sizeable population of the country, huge industrialization, and increasing number of device usage.

There is a need for the entire ecosystem to make the system energy-efficient. Industry has a bigger role to play, besides government and consumers. In addition, it makes business sense to control energy consumption within the organization.

Technology can reduce energy consumption. India has to create innovative technology and do R&D in this area. Educational awareness among vendors as well as consumers is much needed. Also, government regulation should be followed by the players and well-aligned with the industry.

A system should be created. We should either manufacture or import energy-efficient products from outside. Standards and labeling program is a good way to move ahead, and it gives a platform that aligns with the industry and government. This is on a voluntary basis, where vendors can get preference from consumers.

Ajai Chowdhry, chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems:

If we look ahead in mobile area, a lot of it happened because the government have changed regulations. Broadband licenses have been awarded recently and 300 to 400 million subscribers are expected in 5 years that will finally drive device manufacturing. We need to design products with sustainability in mind.

The government plans Rs 5000-crore fund to boost R&D for electronic manufacturing. There should be an involvement for semiconductors, electronics and intermediate products. India is ahead in manufacturing. 70 to 80 per cent components are imported.

Components should also be included in the program. We design chips but do not manufacture them in the country. Also, the margins in electronic products is low. The entry level netbooks are available at Rs 15,000 and in next 2 to 3 years, one can get advanced performance with similar price. We are influencing the government to keep VAT low since IT sales drives the GDP of the country.

R.S Pawar, founder and chairman, NIIT:

In ICT sector, the demand is high and, unfortunately, there is a gap of around 25 per cent in skill sets. Prime Minister's National Council on Skill Development (NCSD) will get support from 100 companies by 2016, and entrepreneurs should come forward to help develop skill building. There should be correlation between skills and degree-based education. Though, there is a shortage the good thing is that, employers are willing to pay.

Pradeep Gupta, chairman and managing director of Cyber Media Group:

ICT is a big consumer of energy. We need to look at all levels and everyone should be involved to create ecosystem for the 'Idea called India'. We should create a sustainable model at corporate and individual level. In the telecom front, a lot of manufacturing is happening in India, and we'll require more skillset and manpower.

Diesel consumption is high in the telecom sector. In servers alone, huge energy is being consumed. Various devices are coming up, which again consume a large amount of power. Industry together with government and consumers can play an important role in reducing carbon footprint.