I AM CONFIDENT THAT INDIA WILL BECOME THE WORLD'S INNOVATION HUB IN ICT -SHRI NARENDRA MODI Chief Minister, Gujarat

Across the political spectrum Narendra Modi is known as BJP's key strategist and Prime Ministerial candidate for the coming Lok Sabha Election. Modi says it is the time to launch the next phase of ICT growth and leadership. Excerpts from an exlusive interaction with Dataquest

- Ed Nair

Overall ICT industry Vision: What's your vision for Indian IT and telecom industry for the next 5 years? What is the message you would like to drive home to IT companies and technology leaders in the country?

The growth of ICT in the last two decades has been spectacular and historic in the world. IT industry has changed the entire set-up and altered thought processes. I believe in the Mantra of 'IT+IT-IT' (Information Technology+ Indian Talent India Tomorrow). My vision for IT sector is that it develops the capacity and capability to become the engine of innovation and the driver of growth in the years to come. I see the IT industry as an engine for making India the knowledge superpower and an agent of change that touches lives of the poorest of the poor, for their empowerment.

The IT sector has become the shining beacon of Brand India globally. We need to build up our strengths and effectively leverage our talent pool at home. We need to work to create an atmosphere whereby India becomes the home of the next Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon! We have the talent, what we need to work on is providing the right opportunities, infrastructure and groom our people.

With a policy driven and result oriented approach, I see no reason why India cannot become the next hub of Cloud Infrastructure. We would need to think out of the box on whether there are synergies and opportunities to co-locate non-conventional energy projects and massive data centers in areas where there is little scope for agriculture or manufacturing. Here too IT plays a crucial role.