How has your tenure as President panned out thus far?
It is very nice to lead one of the largest IT associations in the country. More than achievements, I feel I have a lot more to do in terms of streamlining the organization. We speak of a consortium, though when I assumed office, only three or four associations had renewed their membership. I felt that it was my responsibility to get the renewals through process-oriented functioning of the apex body like sharing information, setting meeting agendas well in advance and updating our databases.
How many locations have you covered in the tenure thus far?
In my tenure, I had covered almost all the places and have listened to issues raised by members. To name a few, I had been to Tirupur, Trichy, Namakkal, Nilgris, Coimbatore, Tiruvarur, Puducherry, and Vellore. I was also invited during the formation of FIDTAK (Federation of Information Technology Association-Karnataka) as a special guest and the ‘Akshayam’ project was the case-study there.
Overall, what do you think are the key challenges that your members face?
In my interaction these days, I found that online trading and the large format retails are becoming the biggest threat for us. At least these retail shops are hitting the business only in the bigger towns. However, the online trading has become the biggest threat for us as it covers even remote villages, or any location that has an internet connection.
One of your agenda points was to provide a platform for industry-government interaction. Where are you with that?
It is very much a part of my priority. I recently met the Secretary of IT, Tamil Nadu and impressed upon him the concerns of our associates. I also propose to write a detailed note to the government requesting them to host a pre-budget meeting to discuss these. A strong representation has also been made to involve the Confed-ITA in the e-governance initiatives.
What difference do you see in the association after you assumed office?
The mail group is the visible example. The days of communicating each other over telephone is over and today our e-mails give all the information that our members require. For the first time, I find that there is some vibrancy in this Mail Group and members are eagerly following activities. Not only on the email group, but our members are also active via social media platforms like Facebook.
It has been suggested that you’ve taken up cudgels with several of your predecessors. What’s the reason for this?
I won’t say that I am against all of my predecessors. It is just that I am concerned about the number of people that get added to our organization each year. I am not against the ‘advisor’ system but there is a need-based manner in which we must look at it. When the association was formed, we needed some advisors to guide us on the right path. Five years later, we’re matured enough and I therefore believe immediate past presidents and office bearers need to continue as advisors.
One of the former presidents has resigned from the advisory post. Your comments?
Yes. However, it is his decision and I have no role to play in that. His resignation is nothing but his difference of opinions with others.
There is a strong complaint that some former members have access to your group mails?
Even I got the feedback. We have started the process of sifting and removing those people from the mail group. There is one person working on that exclusively and a thorough check-in will be done.
How is the financial strength of the association?
I can proudly say that the association is very healthy and we have more than enough to run the show. We have generated around INR 15 lakhs for the association and now we are thinking of how effectively we can utilize it for the members.
Right from your first day, many comments against you are floated. How do you take this?
I take it positively. When my office bearers call me and ask me about the various allegations, I just tell them to take a look at the way association is becoming active every day. In a group, it is casual to receive all kinds of fedback from people.
How supportive is your team?
My team is my backbone. Initially I had a doubt on how well I can synchronize with them. However, later I found that they are all on same wave length. I can proudly say that my team is the biggest strength.