November 25 2011: India’s information technology sector may have started by running call centres and maintaining old computer code for American companies. But, today, instead of starting more I.T. services companies, a new breed of Indian entrepreneurs are developing high-value technology products based on intellectual property, writes Vivek Wadhwa in his column in the Washington Post this week.

All they lack he says, are angel investors, venture capitalists, and, most critically, experienced mentors. But soon “seasoned entrepreneurs (will) decide to give back to the next generation. When that happens, Silicon Valley better watch out. It is in for some very real competition”. Wadhwa warns.
A long time observer of the Indian IT scene, Wadhwa was recently in Bangalore at the NASSCOM Product Conclave, an event which drew 1400 earlier this month. He quotes Conclave chairman Sharad Sharma, who thinks India will have at least a $1 billion tech IPO every year for the next 3 years and points at possible contenders: India’s Amazon.com Flipkart, global ad network InMobi, Zoho, and India’s Groupon-equivalent SnapDeal.
Link to the full Washington Post column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-innovations/why-india-should-scaresiliconvalley/2011/09/14/gIQALjiolN_story.html?wpisrc=nl_tech