SAP’s Manish Prasad, ET Telecom

New Delhi: The last decade has transformed the IT and technology landscape in India and some of the homegrown technology enterprises, mid-market firms and startups are now creating an impact globally as well, says Manish Prasad, President and Managing Director for SAP Indian Subcontinent.

The senior executive at cloud software major SAP is bullish about India’s prospects going forward, as the global companies embrace the country from all perspectives – be it manufacturing, electronics, semiconductors or innovation at scale.

“If we can do it in manufacturing, why can’t we do it for technology? I think it’s more to do with the culture. And that culture is changing quite significantly in India,” Prasad told IANS.

“If you take a step back and look at startups and unicorns in India, it is an intellectual property (IP) that we are creating within the country and taking it globally as well,” he added.

The startup ecosystem in the country, the third largest in the world, is set to add nearly 10 lakh startups and 10,000 unicorns in the coming decade.

Currently, there are more than 1 lakh startups and about 110 unicorns in the country.

Prasad said that some of the technology companies which are originating from India are “creating an impact globally as well”.

“I am surprised to see the number of acquisitions that Indian companies are doing in global markets and how quickly they’re integrating them back into the fold of their core competency,” he told IANS.

According to the government, startups are playing a pivotal role in India’s journey towards becoming ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Paul Marriott, President for Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) of SAP, who visited India late last month, said that a visionary political leadership, talented youth and a massive AI and startup community will help India reach its $30 trillion GDP growth goal by 2047.

According to Prasad, that transition is already happening in the country at a fast pace.

“Small aberrations may come from time to time but India’s journey to the global stage has already started,” he noted.

Nearly 60 per cent of India’s GDP now touches the SAP ecosystem.

The company has its biggest research and development (R&D) development centre in India, outside of Germany.