India should not fear using its talent and market access as leverage: Sridhar Vembu

With political narratives constantly reshaping US trade policies, India’s services industries — which have their largest exposure to the US market — are now treading an uncharted path with great caution. That said, despite the ongoing trade negotiations with the US, a signed FTA with the UK, and continuing progress on an FTA agreement with the EU, India has seen steady growth in the number of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) being set up in the country by various global corporations, particularly with a focus on R&D and engineering centres.

Zoho Corp’s Founder and Chief Scientist, Sridhar Vembu, who has been vocal about swadeshi tech, says that although there is a dollar-revenue dependence for the tech sector, India should recognise that global firms view the country as a growth market — and this is precisely why they are investing. “That gives us a kind of leverage. It's not just one side that has leverage. We have to realise we have some leverage and we must be prepared to use it. If they use it, we have to use it too,” he says.

Although the number of GCCs is increasing, and although they have moved up the value chain in terms of research and advancements provided to their parent companies, Sridhar says this value is yet to be reflected on Indian balance sheets. Addressing fears that companies may move work elsewhere, he argues there are very few countries with the scale to offer such a large talent pool.

“It's not true — not Eastern Europe, not anywhere. China, of course, is off limits. So that’s why I think we do have to realise that we have some leverage too,” Sridhar said.

While advocating for India to pursue more free trade, he warns that the current model — where India exports low value-addition products while importing high value-addition goods — is detrimental and will not help the country move out of its low-income status. He says India should aim for terms of trade similar to those between Japan and the US rather than the present imbalance. “This is the thing I talk about. In rural areas we sell rice and vegetables at ₹40–50 a kilogram, and we buy iPhones. The accounts will never be balanced properly,” he adds. He believes this imbalance can only be corrected if India competes globally with value-added products of its own.

Sridhar also notes that more Indian corporations are becoming aware of domestic tech product companies, especially as the threat of technology access and raw materials being weaponised becomes more real. “The private sector is now finally realising it, and we are correspondingly seeing strong growth in our India market,” he said.