IT major Capgemini refuses to lose faith in India

Not all foreign investors have lost faith in India despite its long-drawn economic downturn – the Paris based information technology major Capgemini for one is confident about India's growth story, despite challenges in infrastructure and other development being faced by the world's second-most populous country and Asia's third-largest economy.

Capgemini employs over 1.2 lakh people in 40 countries to provide consulting, technology and outsourcing services, with revenue of more than €10 billion last year.

"There is absolutely no way you stay in and not move. Everybody will move ... the government has a sound road map and policy in place, so first those things get worked out and some of those pilots will potentially help problems and hiccups. Some will work. It's just a matter of getting the ball moving," Capgemini's corporate vice president, utilities, and global sector leader Perry Stoneman said.

Elaborating on the nature of problems in India, Stoneman said the country's size and its population also add to the problem.

"I think the problem here is bigger because of the size and population of the country. It's bigger because the infrastructure isn't as modern. So the challenge India has is bigger. The challenges of the regulators, the utilities and the policy makers are bigger. So what everybody should probably recognise is that India needs more time to get those things figured out," he said.

Stoneman said that regulatory issues take time to standardise. Citing the example of France, he said the country has started to roll out smart meters, but the same meters if one tried to install in 2006-07 would not have been possible.

"So my advice to business people that are getting frustrated with being here is they may be not trying to shape the market, advice the market, structure pilots. They are trying to get a big deal, that's not gonna happen in the short term," he said.

Stoneman, however, said there is no clarity on who is going to drive the change in India - whether it will be the policy makers or the regulators or the people.

"The stumbling point that I'm hearing is that everywhere in the world, there's been either the politicians, or the regulator, or the utility, or the consumer that has driven the programme and in India I don't see clarity yet on who is going to drive the programme or initiate it on a country-wide scale," he said.