Release 2.0

The year was 2005. Information Technology exports from India was on track for the twenty billion dollar mark. The market cap of the leading software firms was at an all time high. The media was falling over itself to celebrate 'New India'. Some said America's days of technology leadership were over. But within the confining walls of the man whose face represented India Inc, the mood was different. He had sensed that the ground was shifting below their feet. Amidst the public euphoria about India's alleged software army, Sudharshan Rao saw an eerie image of carcasses. Carcasses of defunct mills in central Mumbai.

Waiting to be sold for their land value. And he knew it was only a matter of time before the market did to him what the Japanese had done to the Indian textile Industry at the turn of the twentieth century... What could an industry that had ignored innovation and relied on cheap labour for half a century possibly do to survive the onslaught? A chilling nightmare provides a clue...a bizzare thought that is equally potent... Release 2.0?

Anil Goel

Author