The Indian Edge; Job Hunt: The CEO most responsible for India's rise as an outsourcing power discusses how it will hold its lead--and produce its own Rockefellers.(Interview)

Byline: Sudip Mazumdar

In 1981, seven left-leaning engineers collected 10,000 rupees (about $1,200 then) to found a company that is now Infosys, the leader of India's dramatic rise as a global leader in information services. Headquartered in Bangalore, Infosys has annual revenues of more than $1 billion and 28,000 employees in 31 countries. One of the original seven, Nandan Nilekani, 49, is now CEO. He spoke about India's newfound place in the world, and the global firestorm of controversy it has created about the "outsourcing" of jobs, with NEWSWEEK's Sudip Mazumdar. Excerpts:

MAZUMDAR: Where does India's biggest competitive threat come from?

NILEKANI: When you look at the factors that make outsourcing destinations attractive, India is still No. 1. You need a large, well-educated, English-speaking pool of talent. You need a favorable climate for business, entrepreneurs, good telecoms. India has all that, plus 25 years of experience. The only other place that will come close is China, because it has similar numbers. Other countries like Ireland, Israel and even Eastern European countries are coming up, but they don't have the numbers. It's all about scalability, the means to expand into new businesses, the way Wal-Mart is moving into groceries, gas and so on. Infosys alone receives about 1 million job applications in a year. Out of the million we select about 10,000. Very few countries in the world have such a large pool of talent to choose from.

So there is no need for concern?

No, no. We have to be concerned. At the end of the day, the opportunity in India will be capped largely by outsourcing becoming a social issue, and by infrastructure. The world has bought into the idea of outsourcing from India. Everyone has realized that we are a smart, brainy people. Now we need physical infrastructure that can support this level of business. It is all about roads, ports, airports, power.

Today, to be "Bangalored" means to lose your job to outsourcing. Will the backlash continue?