Nasscom Foundation to use CSR funds for skilling techies

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SME Times News Bureau | 11 Dec, 2018
Indian IT industry apex body's social arm Nasscom Foundation plans to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to skill techies on latest technologies like Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics, a top executive has said.

"We plan to use CSR funds to skill people on new technologies like AI, machine learning (ML), Blockchain, robotics etc., and bridge the skills gap," the Chief Executive of Nasscom Foundation Ashok Pamidi said at an event here on Monday.

Pamidi was speaking at the Foundation's 'CSR Leadership Conference' in this tech hub.

"Latest technologies can help in addressing various day-to-day problems and the needs of common people while helping improve the social fabric," Pamidi said.

The two-day CSR conference, which began in the city on Monday, aims to provide a platform for the IT and business process management (BPM) industry to solve India's pressing problems, he added.

Collaboration across the industry was necessary to solve larger national issues, said Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh on the occasion.

With automation expected to have an impact on the labour markets, there is a need for re-skilling the workforce, according to the chairman of Accenture India Rekha M. Menon.

"While the extent of the impact on labour markets is still being determined, what remains clear is that automation may disproportionately affect individuals who are already facing hardship," Menon said in her keynote address at the conference.

"Without a large-scale re-skilling effort, these individuals are at greater risk of technological displacement and unemployment," she added.

As per a report from Accenture on creating a future workforce, 95 per cent workforce believes that it needs new skills to remain relevant.

The conference had about 400 delegates, including tech company heads, policymakers, CSR heads from various firms, NGOs, and social influencers taking part.