The signing of the joint Ukraine-India declaration in Delhi opened new page in the two countries’ relations. This is how Viktor Yanukovych appreciated the outcome of his Indian visit in the final get-together with the Ukrainian press at the Infosys office, where he planted a tree. The “planting” was purely symbolic, just like the trip on the whole. It evoked the memories of another visit to India, by ex-president Leonid Kuchma. Yanukovych only poured some soil into a big pot where someone had already stuck the tree, and then watered it from a watering can. Later the tree will be re-planted for real – maybe, next to the Spanish mahonia, planted on November 17 this year by the leader of Burmese opposition Aung San Suu Kyi during her visit to Infosys. A company representative explained that the Ukrainian head of state had too little time to plant the tree somewhere outside the office, on the Infosys premises. By the way, during her November visit, Dr. Suu Kyi got a present from the company’s executive Senapathy Gopalakrishnan: Infosys undertook an obligation to implement a six-month-long training program for 100 engineering students in order to improve the standards of education in Burma.
Thus a logical question suggests itself: how has Ukraine profited from its president’s visit to this global IT hub, dubbed the Silicon Valley of India? Remarkably, the Ukrainian delegation did not have a single representative of Ukrainian IT companies on board. And by the way, Vladyslav Kaskiv, head of the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine, who after the LNG scandal has been the president’s shadow on his foreign trips, is anything but knowledgeable about information technology.
It is absolutely odd that those responsible for preparing the visit did not bother to include a few IT experts, who would have been able to engage in a meaningful conversation about projects and prospects and somehow join both parties’ efforts for the promotion of Ukrainian and Indian products on global markets.
The president rightly said in front of Ukrainian journalists that Ukraine ranks fifth in the global rating of programmer training. But it is up to experts in this field to discuss the gains and potential of both parties. It is experts who should have done the talking. For one, Dmytro Kiva, constructor general at the State Enterprise Antonov, who has long been engaged in negotiations with his Indian counterparts, was included in the official delegation.
The president said that Ukraine is interested in creating information and data centers for the harmonization of services rendered to Ukrainian companies, as well as international companies operating in Ukraine. “We want to create an up-to-date system, which would provide conditions for development and earning profit,” emphasized Yanukovych.
Well, who doesn’t want that? But why has this goal been elusive so far, and will income tax exemption for IT companies help here? The same goes for the wish to create Ukraine’s own silicon valley, expressed by the president. The Indian Silicon Valley in Bangalore, where Infosys has its headquarters, impressed our journalists a lot. It is a huge campus for 25,000 employees (60 percent male, 40 percent female). On the campus the only allowed vehicles are electromobiles (the city has a fleet of 8,000) or bicycles (18,000). There are seven cafeterias and several swimming pools which open after 4 p.m.
Salaries at entry level (for engineering graduates) start at 350,000 rupees (7,000 dollars) per year. By global standards, this is not much, but it is tax exempt. On the other hand, in India, with its food and fare prices, it is very competitive. On the campus you get a feeling that you are in a separate world, smart and environmentally-aware. This explains the tradition: each new employee must plant a tree. The same applies to VIP guests who visit this Indian silicone wonder.
The president fairly reasonably argued that it is necessary to join Ukraine’s and India’s pharmaceutical industries. He also said that after his visit to Biocon an agreement was reached to start a joint venture for supplying medicines to Ukraine at factory prices. But as we know, Indians have been complaining about their pharmaceutical plants being closed down in Ukraine.
Talks about silicon valley are all the rage in our country. Yet it looks as if none of Ukrainian officials had ever tried to figure out how the Silicon Valleys in the US and India were created, and how Skolkovo is being built in Russia. However, these are all different projects, the only component in common being the name. The strength of the Bangalore Silicon Valley is in its cheap workforce. In America it is the spirit of entrepreneurship, eagerness to take risks, and above all, a level playing field. Does Ukraine have such conditions? Do we have managers capable of implementing projects on the national scale? This is a rhetoric question.
The Day’s FACT FILE
Infosys was created in 1981 by seven men with a starting capital of 250 US dollars. Today the company is a global leader in consulting, technology, and outsourcing with revenue of 7.126 billion US dollars. Infosys offers services in business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing, helping clients in more than 30 countries build the most state of the art enterprises.
Infosys has 66 offices and 69 development centers in the USA, India, China, Australia, Japan, the Middle East, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Poland, Canada, and many other countries. Infosys and its branches currently employ a staff of 153,761. The company sees its mission as “strategic partnership in developing enterprises of tomorrow.”
TO THE POINT
At the Ukraine-India forum in Bangalore Yanukovych mentioned that the Indian partner would probably be interested in Ukraine’s expertise in aircraft engineering, in particular, the most recent cutting-edge Antonov aircraft, such as passenger aircraft An-148 and An-158. The president specifically emphasized that Ukraine has extensive industrial facilities for the expansion of shipment of passenger and freight vessels to India’s markets, as well as equipment and avionics. The Day interviewed Dmytro KIVA, constructor general at the State Enterprise Antonov, about the details of such cooperation between Ukraine and India.
“There is no doubt that it opens new horizons, but we are already cooperating with the Indians. Firstly, we carry out contracts, this is well-known to everyone. We used to supply our An-12 aircraft to India at some moment in the past, and they remember it. They have positive impression from that period of collaboration.”
And what do you have to offer these days?
“They have a few programs in the aviation sphere. For example, the design of a 180-seat passenger aircraft. And we have An-148 and An-158, in different versions, if you please. The second program is a tender for the creation of a patrol aircraft for a few units of India’s air force, national guards, and coast guards.
“And the third program is a transport aircraft: they have announced a tender for the replacement of 63 Avro craft. And we are working, with Indian partners in particular. Private business and Indian aviation authorities are involved in this program. But this is a serious mission, we have been working on it jointly for more than a year.
“Besides, we are creating an aircraft with load ability of 18 tons, which would replace An-12 completely. This is a new, modern aircraft, and we see that vessels of this kind are in demand on the Indian market. There is no doubt that they are interested, because it covers aircraft of Avro type, which are being replaced at the moment. And it is slightly bigger than American Hercules, which they have, by the way.
“I noticed that if earlier Russia was rather influential in aviation supply, now the Western companies have taken over this branch.
“We have also offered our An-70 to the Indians. I think that this program will also interest them.”
Do you have to offer this plane jointly with Russia?
“Yes, we are going to do this. I do not think they would mind implementing this program. But it depends greatly on our political relations with Russia.”
