Premji raises concern about 'India advantage'

BANGALORE, INDIA: IT major Wipro's chief Azim Premji today cautioned the industry that competition globally is hotting up and warned the sector against falling into a mind trap of 'India Advantage', reports PTI.

"We have talked a lot about India advantage. That makes me extremely worried. It's a huge amount of thumping on the back (by Indian IT industry)," the report quoted Premji as saying at the fifth India Innovation Summit 2009, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

He also said that BPO exports from the Philippines this year would be "pretty close" to that of India's, while the growth of India's IT exports has come down to 12-14 per cent in 2008-09 from a compounded annual growth rate of 30 per cent-plus till the previous year. However, he agreed that Indian economy is getting as open as any global economy.

Echoing Premji's concern, Infosys CEO S Gopalakrishnan said that we have to be always on our toes the report added. “We cannot be complacent about the lead we have, we cannot be complacent about competition.”

Premji also said he foresaw emergence of a two-party system in the country. The recent Lok Sabha polls verdict was an indication to that effect, he said. He also opined that coalition governments in India have been reasonably successful.

Meanwhile, Azim Premji Foundation, founded by Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, has sold three lakh equity shares of the IT firm for Rs11.75 crore in the open market, said a PTI report.

The Foundation sold 62,000 equity shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), while the rest 2.38 lakh it sold on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Wipro Ltd said in a filing to the BSE.

The three lakh equity shares, sold by the foundation on June 5, represent 0.02 per cent  of the total stake of the IT firm Wipro, it said.