Contrary to the general perception the U.S. President Donald Trump’s protectionist policies are detrimental to IT industry, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani is of opinion that it could actually be a blessing in disguise.
“Actually, Trump might a blessing in disguise. It will help Indian IT industry focus on solving problems in the country, while Indian domestic IT market is also huge,” Ambani, the country’s richest man, said at the Nasscom summit.
Ambani, who answered a volley of questions from Neelam Dhawan, VP-Global Industries and Strategic Alliances, APJ at HP Enterprises, also said that India should not worry about what the world thinks.
"The world may want to build walls, India must not be influenced by it, must remain open," Ambani said, adding, India is blessed with a population of 1.3 billion and its talent and research will have a “competitive edge”.
India has the infrastructure to emerge as the biggest software markets in the world and implementation of technologies such as block chain, adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), mobile computing and machine learning among others would help in redefine the country’s prospects.
“In terms of the internet, we have the opportunity to adopt artificial intelligence and natural language processing,” he added.
"In this new world in terms of digitization it is important to be open. Whatever the world trends may be, we have to make sure we are always open, always connected. The goal of improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people is the opportunity that we have," he added.
Stating that the Indian IT industry is going through “exciting” times, and said that the Fourth Industrial Revolution, he said that the country is at the threshold of a new era, “wherein data is the new oil”.
Talking about the importance of digitalisation, he said the country also need to move fast.
“We will be left behind, we will be outcompeted and we will not stand a chance,” he said.
Talking about the challenges, Ambani said that it is important to have partnerships, while issues of security and privacy had to be overcome, while the goal has to be development and improvement of millions of people’s lives.