India is making strides in the tech industry. According to a NASSCOM report, the IT industry posted 15.5 per cent YoY growth for FY2022. It further said the tech sector revenue surpassed USD 200 billion.

In his 76th Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the global position of India in the technology sector. He talked about the vital contribution India is making towards the fourth industrial revolution, as its share in the global sourcing market stands at 59 per cent. 

The Government of India is also widely supporting this growth in the technology industry through various incubation centres and initiatives such as the Atal Innovation Mission, Start-up India Seed Fund, Digital India Programme, Software Technology Park (STP) Scheme, NexGen IEDC, campaigns like 'Think Digital, Think India.' 

At present, India houses 25,000 tech start-ups, including 108 such entities that have achieved unicorn status and 11 that have launched an IPO. India is also considered the third largest technology start-up hub in the world.  All of it aligns with the government's ambition to make India a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025-26. 

India’s youth is the key to the success of the Indian technology sector 

The progress in the Indian tech sector is credited to the 808 million youth, who form 66 per cent of the total population aged below 35 and have grown up tech and digital savvy. With a literacy rate of over 90 per cent among the youth, Internet and social media penetration (over 700 million users) and affordable Internet access, the youth are acquiring new skills and are looking for a purpose and an opportunity to help other people. It encourages the youth to innovate and take risks. 

As a result, we are witnessing increased demand and development in various tech sub-sectors such as AI, blockchain, XaaS, platformisation, cloud computing, cybersecurity, hyper-scale computing, IoT, machine learning and supply chain.

Tech companies are nowadays open to hiring talented employees with no formal education background in the technology field and hosting events like hackathons, coding competitions and business case competitions. One of the most famous hackathons is Google Code Jam. It boosts the morale of the youth and gives them an opportunity to solve some real-world problems. 

Hybrid work culture is driving youth involvement in the tech sector 

Today, the Indian tech industry has a total direct workforce of five million, with the highest net addition of 445K in FY2022. This talent pool is growing at a 25 per cent CAGR.

It can be attributed to the tech firms inculcating the 'people-first’, employee-centric approach and offering options such as flexible work hours, remote working, hybrid work culture and higher paychecks. This work-life integration and independence to work from anywhere are essential for today's youth. 

The companies also welcome and support innovative ideas and believe an employee should have an entrepreneurial approach within the organisation. 

Tech companies are also focusing on reskilling and upskilling programmes to keep up with the industry's dynamic nature. In FY2022 alone, 280K people in the tech industry were reskilled. 

All these factors are already motivating the youth to be a part of this forward-moving industry. The industry must continue prioritising the employees and the youth and keep working in a similar, dynamic fashion to make India the epicentre for innovation and technology.