India’s IT services industry is poised to grow 10-12% over the next five years after having recovered from the global downturn in the past year, says industry lobby Nasscom ’s outgoing chairman. In an interview to, he says India is set to take a tougher stance on protectionism the world over. He names cybersecurity as a major area of focus for the industry in the coming days and says reskilling of workforce in a rapidly transforming environment is among the key challenges. Edited excerpts:The past year has been quite stable and strong, with the IT services industry posting doubledigit growth. The industry seems to have recovered from the global economic downturn. There are a lot of opportunities in the IT services industry and we foresee a growth of 10-12% over the next five years. Standing at $143 billion today, the IT services industry is expected to reach $225 billion by 2020 and $350 billion by 2035.A major focus area I see is of cybersecurity. On the one hand, we talk about IoT (Internet of Things) and on the other hand, technology is more vulnerable than ever. It is a cause of worry as data is going to become more and more valuable, which in turn will make data security more valuable. The second challenge is that customers’ expectations are changing. Initially, India was known for its price arbitrage. Having participated in transformative projects, customers now expect us to enter into riskreward business models where we do the work, take the risks, and also share the rewards. Transforming ourselves to these new business models is both challenging and motivating.Technology disruptions are making linearity in business disappear. This also means that the skills required from the talent are different today. Reskilling the existing workforce on newer technologies is a challenge. Faster alignment is needed, especially in an outsourcing-driven industry, to keep up with the continual technology transformations happening around the world. This also includes the global move to digital. The workforce needs to transform to match up to the required new capabilities. Not many companies are prepared for the scale of transformation required for them to remain competitive in the market.The industry has been facing strong protectionism from around the world. Global Trade Development (GTD) needs a thrust and lot more focus. In December 2015, the US Senate and the Congress increased the visa fees. Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed the issue with the US President Barack Obama, the decision was passed in the US budget and will require more time and effort to be resolved. The ministry of commerce will be lodging a complaint with the WTO, as the visa fee hike is essentially an unfair trade practice and this is a larger trade issue, impacting free trade between both countries. Definitely the government has been supportive of the industry and will take a stand if it impacts free trade between the countries.The boom in the Indian startup ecosystem has made a conspicuous impact on multiple critical areas such as education, healthcare, employment, agriculture etc. Startups in India have been leveraging technology to provide localised solutions for India’s need which is different from that in many of the developed countries. For example, a technology startup from Bengaluru is helping farmers increase crop yield 15%, using innovative irrigation technology. Such technology-based startups can help three-fifths of India’s 1.2 billion population, which is dependent on agriculture and monsoon for their livelihood, by providing affordable solutions for smarter irrigation, precise weather forecasting, eliminating pests and improving yields. The startup movement is also vital to addressing the current urgency to create jobs in India.