'Make in India is creating more jobs for people'

Rajiv Bhalla, the managing director of Barco India told The National in an interview

A stock trader watches share prices on his screen at a brokerage house in Mumbai. Despite being one of the largest exporters of skilled IT workers across the globe, India still has comparatively low lShow more

Rajiv Bhalla, the managing director of Barco India, a technology company owned by Belgium-based Barco, talks about its manufacturing activities in India and how the company is benefiting from the Make in India initiative of the Indian government.

What’s Barco’s presence in India?

A Barco India was established in 1996 with a team of 50 people. Today, we have a team of more than 500 across functions such as research and development, software development, manufacturing, sales, marketing and customer service. India is a key market for us and we have seen double-digit growth in the past two years.

What are you doing in terms of manufacturing in India?

We have been significantly contributing to the government’s Make in India campaign. We have a manufacturing facility at Noida that has been manufacturing hi-tech products for both domestic as well as global markets. The large video walls that Barco supplies in 90 countries are 100 per cent made in India and exported from India to the rest of the world. At the India site, we do printed circuit board assembly, power supplies and projector engines.

How is the Make in India programme benefiting you?

The Make in India programme has multiple advantages: from cost to faster goods-to-market, better control over product design and development, availability of workforce and better research and development options among others. More importantly, it has made the world take notice of India as a manufacturing nation.

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What are you doing to help the Indian manufacturing sector?

We have been investing in nurturing local talent, imparting skills and empowering them to represent India’s market opportunities. We have generated significant employment opportunities for Indian professionals across the board.

How has Make in India helped create jobs?

The Make in India programme has helped create job opportunities for more than 15 per cent of Barco’s worldwide employees, based out of India.

What are the biggest challenges for you in India?

The technological barrier in the Indian market presents a major challenge. The country, despite being one of the largest exporters of a skilled IT workforce in the world, still has comparatively low levels of technological awareness and penetration.