The skill itself was not created by the software industry. The skill was a product of the higher education system. This higher education was largely government run and highly subsidised. If the software industry had to create their own skills, the margins would have been much lower.Hence, it will not be inappropriate to say that the initial wealth of the Indian software industry was created largely out of government subsidies.

Now, in 2008, the software industry has matured a great deal. The IT/ITES industry employs over 1.5 million people. The IT services companies are among the biggest employers in India. TCS and Infosys have crossed 100,000 employees each. They are the biggest recruiters in the engineering campuses. The Big six software companies, SWITCH (Satyam, Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, HCL) alone have recruited over 100,000 people in 2007-08, mostly freshers from the engineering colleges across India.

Such large number of engineering graduates are not available in the top-tier engineering colleges. So, these companies have progressively increased the number of colleges and the recruitments from each college. After exhausting the Tier-II government colleges, the industry now recruits engineers from Tier-III and Tier-IV private colleges.

The private colleges that have sprung up across the country in last 5 years were a market response to the growing requirements of the industry, software industry in particular. The industry body NASSCOM has been shouting from every available forum about the impending shortage of engineers. Sensing this need, entrepreneurs,politicians big and small and charitable trusts, set up engineering colleges. Affiliation to the state’s technological university and recognition from AICTE were obtained through a mix of influence ,money and lots of untruths about faculty and facilities.They were able to get the students because of the craze for engineering education in India and also showing the promise of a job, a software job.

The Indian software industry in its eagerness to meet their own growth targets continued recruiting in ever larger numbers, thus playing ball with the promoters of these colleges. The campus recruitments were held almost one year before the passing out of the students.

Now, when the software industry is growing through its own problems, it is also making noises about the poor quality of engineers from these colleges. NASSCOM has made a statement that only a small fraction of the 230,000 engineers graduating every year are employable.

If the software industry problems continue longer, we are going to see quite a few ramifications of the quality problems. Firstly, the thousands of engineers who are studying in their 2nd and 3rd years in these colleges will find it difficult to get jobs. Secondly, a number of engineers who are already working in these companies may lose their jobs, citing poor performance as the reason.

The question we face is : Is the software industry, a saviour or a destroyer of engineering education in the country ?

By providing employment to so many young professionals, the software industry is doing a great service. The software industry solved the placement problems for the engineering colleges. It has increased the average salary levels for fresh engineers. It has given global opportunities to thousands of Indian engineers.

Whereas, by creating an illusion of ever increasing need for engineers, the software industry has created a supply of engineers far higher than what the country needs. By diluting the standards for recruitment year after year, the software industry has allowed degeneration of the engineering education. In their own desire to recruit large numbers, these companies recruited the engineers well before they were ready. By promising them a high-paying job , one year before their engineering completion, they spoilt the students.Most students simply stopped studying.