The India that we see in GIFT City is not the India we see outside, said Sujit Kumar, Head HR, Global Markets, Infosys Ltd, during a talent workshop organised by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), Friday.

Asking IFSCA to use social media to attract the aspirational youth of the country to the ambitious project, Kumar while participating in a panel discussion on ‘Identifying talent needs: Developing GIFT IFSC as a new age global financial centre’ said, “You can invite the young graduates to come and visit this fabulous facility. . Something in their mind will say, they want to work here. The India that we see in GIFT City is not the India we see outside.” Infosys used to conduct similar tours at the company’s facilities for thousands of engineering graduates, he added.

During the discussion, Ashutosh Sharma, Chief General Manager, IFSCA said companies operating from GIFT IFSC in Gujarat should “incentivise” employees who are ready to move from other Indian cities to this greenfield ecosystem. “Many Indian companies are not able to retain talent in GIFT IFSC. Why should a person move from Mumbai to GIFT IFSC if you are giving him a haircut of 10 per cent in the salary?,” Sharma asked.

Other members of the panel stated that GIFT City in Gujarat needed to create a social ecosystem that aid in attracting young talent. Vikram Gupta, partner, Hunt Partners, a talent advisory entity said, “A city like GIFT should draw examples from global competitors like Singapore, Dubai, London... Cities like GIFT should first make the place liveable. This is a great place with infrastructure, but it needs to have social ecosystem. It should have something for the residents and their families in the evening to do. The place also needs to generate research and innovation.”

Pointing out that Gujarat has a lot of the BFSI talents, Arati Porwal, Country Head, India CFA Institute, said that more global organisations need to be attracted to GIFT City. “How do we get those global organisations into GIFT City? One way is by creating a global culture where people from various nationalities can coexist just like Hong Kong or Singapore. Second, is global infrastructure. Third is a globally relevant talent. The talents in GIFT City must have global knowledge-base. If the knowledge is only India-centric, then it might not support the aspirations of global companies that you want to attract here (at GIFT City).”

Advocating IFSCA to set up more foreign universities in GIFT City to create a social atmosphere that can groom talent and aid research, Adrain Mutton, Founder and executive chairman, Sannam S4 Group said, “The young people that this city is looking to attract might want a social environment that facilitates meeting new people, socialising and learning few things... Working with foreign universities to attract people from their campuses can help create this environment.”

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