Odisha is one of the brightest spots for IT services: Cognizant CEO to OTV

Odisha is a leading destination for IT services, said Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S, who is the lone Odia among 27 NRIs conferred with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award by President Droupadi Murmu during the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

In a candid interview with the OTV's executive editor Radhamadhab Mishra on the sidelines of the PBD convention, Ravi Kumar said, "Cognizant opened a centre in Bhubaneswar in February 2024, and in less than 1 year, we have recruited around 1,000 people. We will continue to expand the employee strength. Bhubaneswar has the potential to be a hub for the eastern India because it has a huge education base. Odias are residing all over the world and they are all coming back."

Based in the US for the last 10 years, the Cognizant CEO sees a huge potential in Odias too.

"All Odias have bright potential. When you come from a humble background and you start working hard, you can create that opportunity in your career. So long as you have the value system, you can rise. I have done so and other Odias can do too," he added.

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Asked about what more Odisha need to emerge as an IT hub like Hyderabad and Bangalore, he said, "Right now with the kind of engineering colleges in Odisha, there is no need to send the students to other parts of the country. We should bring them back to Odisha. And now, Bhubaneswar has good social eco-system too."

"The new government is doing well and we are getting good support and I think this is a good opportunity for Bhubaneswar to take off. Odisha is a hub for minerals, power and this can be a hub for technology and GCCs," he added.