Enter the optimist

India’s tech industry might be facing its most challenging time yet, courtesy Trump and AI, but Nambiar, whose career path has mirrored the rise of the sector, tells Shivani Shinde he remains confident of its resilience

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Itisa busy afternoonat the Trident’s 022 restaurant in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex. The steady clink of cutlery and the muted hum of business lunches form the backdrop as Rajesh Nambiar slides into a corner table. The choice of venue is pure convenience: Nambiar, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), which represents India’s tech industry, has a meeting with the Maharashtra chief minister. I, too, am here after an appointment in the neighbourhood.

‘Our conversation takes place well before US President Donald Trump’s latest crackdown on H-1B visas and the buzz surrounding the proposed HIRE Act (Halting International Relocation of Employment). These developments will soon dominate industry chatter, but they aren't yet weighing on Nambiar’s mind.

He is unhurried, his manner calm as we place our order. He chooses Hibachi rice; I settle on chicken in green curry with rice.

Tremind him that he has completed 36 years in the IT industry. In all that time, he has worked for just four companies — the role at Nasscom makes it five. “It’s been quite a journey,” he says, before tracing the arc ofa career that has mirrored the rise of Indian technology itself.

Fresh from a master’s degree at the Indian Statistical Institute, Nambiar joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) through campus recruitment when the company was barely a thousand strong. “Iwould have been the 1,000th employee,” he laughs. Among his early colleagues was N Chandrasekaran, now chairman of Tata Sons. “We were in the same team in many ways, working very closely.”

TCS, he says, gave hima lot of exposure. The industry was small then: