It is, believes Mr. V Bala Subramanian, vice president, international operations at leading infotech company, Aptech Ltd. Joining him, in complete agreement, is Mr. Pramod Khera, executive director, and global head of training and education, who says, "India has been known as a software powerhouse with quality software products. Now the world is recognising that it can look to India for IT training too."

Aptech, in August this year, brought in the second batch of final year undergraduate students from the Sungkonghoe University, South Korea, for a one-year training program at its training centre at Bangalore. Earlier, in March, the first batch of eighteen students from the same university began training at Aptech's National Training College at Pune. A third batch of students is expected to arrive in India by December this year, and the fourth early next year, says Mr. Khera.

"Aptech already has a presence in 35 countries, " says Mr. Subramanian. "However, many universities prefer to send students to India so that the students can get an exposure to the culture and the software industry of India. One of the objectives is to sit with Indian students and go through the same program and assessment with them and benchmark themselves with Indian students." It is for this reason that the Sungkonghoe University saw it fit to send its second batch of students to India.

While competition like NIIT do not have any formal tie-up with foreign universities, a number of students from countries such as Australia, China and Hong Kong make a stint at NIIT as part of their "India circuit". According to Mr. R. Sampath, deputy general manager at NIIT, "These students typically come here to do a Microsoft MCSE course soon after their formal training, either after school or college, and make use of our education and testing centres."

Training includes the option of working in one of three areas -- multimedia, client server technology and e-commerce, in addition to enabling students to pass international certification examinations like OCP, MCP, MCSD, Adobe Certified Expert, Sun Java Certification and IBM Certified Solution Expert.

The third module of the training involves a three-month internship program to allow students to get first hand experience working in a software organisation in India.

The program also includes English language training, preparing students to appear for English competency exams conducted by the University of Cambridge through the British Council.

On completion of training in India, the credits will be transferred to the university. Course fees for the program amounts to $ 4,500 per student, inclusive of expenses towards their stay.

Aptech started its association with foreign students in January 1998, when the Salvadorian Government nominated 30 students from various walks of life for a 9-month computer-training program at Aptech.

"Aptech has trained students from El Salvador, Nigeria and South Korea and there are requests from other countries like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Philippines for such training," says Mr. Khera.

What makes India such a hotshot destination for IT training? Is cost of training the influencing factor?

"Cost is one of the factors," according to Mr. Khera. "Training costs are 30 to 40 per cent lower than in other countries. Added to the cost of living, the difference is even more," he says.

However, according to Mr. Subramanian, the overriding reasons are different. He believes that India's success in the software sector has made many countries, especially developing ones, want to know "what it is about Indian IT training that has made the country a software super power." Another factor, he says, is the abundant availability of career oriented computer education options in the country.

Most countries, he says, including China, want to emulate the example of the Indian education system for software training, since they believe they can be as competitive as India. Most developing countries look at India with this objective.

With the private sector entering the business of computer education in the late eighties, there has been a virtual proliferation of computer training avenues. Mr. Khera states, "We believe that organisations like Aptech, NIIT, and others have played a large role in the way the IT industry has grown in India. The formal, government controlled system would never have been able to cope with the demand for trained manpower."

In the US and UK, where grant-assisted education is available in universities, there are no takers for private education providers of the type India has seen in the computer field. As a result, private trainers have, by and large, trained their sights on corporate training.

It is only in India that one sees this emphasis on training in software as a career, and the involvement of private initiative in this sector at the retail level. In fact, private sector initiative has not only found career oriented IT training a good business proposition, but has also helped the industry grow. The large number of players has ensured healthy competition in terms of content and standards of training.

Besides, the extensive availability of career-oriented training has turned India not only into the largest pool of trained manpower, but also the largest pool of trained faculty.

Another reason for the success of private sector in computer training has been the near total absence of government control or interference. Private sector institutions have been left to grow at will, free to decide their own course structures and syllabi. Computer training outfits therefore have been quick to adopt techniques and topics suited to industry demand.

"Universities are inflexible and take considerable time to change syllabi according to government directives. Private training companies do not have this constraint," says Mr. Subramanian. He adds, "Universities change syllabus every four to five years. In the IT sector, four to five years is too long a time. You need to be able to learn the latest. The university method of education cannot give the opportunity to master the latest in the market."

The global software training market is estimated at $27.9 billion, with India's current share being under 5 per cent. The reason given is that, until recently, none of the Indian training institutions had seriously focussed themselves on the international market. It is only of recent that organisations like Aptech, NIIT, and to some extent SSI and Wintech, are getting into the act. Most of them, notability Aptech and NIIT, have addressed the need by opening overseas training centres. (Aptech, for instance, operates out of 35 countries). Bringing students into India for training opens a new window to opportunity.