Special conversation with the founder of Zoho: Sridhar Vembu said – After South, now we are starting projects in states like Uttar Pradesh, there is immense talent here.

Zoho, the country’s first technology company run from villages, will now start its projects in North India also. (File photo: Company CEO Sridhar Vembu)

Zoho, the country’s first technology company run from villages, will now start its projects in North India also. Company CEO Sridhar Vembu says that many employees in our office are from states like Uttar Pradesh, hence we are now starting projects in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh so that the youth here do not have to migrate. Apart from Sonbhadra, we are also thinking of starting the scheme in cities like Deoria of UP. Read the special conversation with Shridhar Vembu with Dainik Bhaskar…

Question: After South, why are you starting projects in North India now?

answer : This is important because we see that many employees in our Chennai office come from states like Uttar Pradesh. These areas are quite prosperous, so our aim is to reach the small towns and villages of North India as well. So that migration can be reduced, people can work while staying in their hometown.

At present, a project of ours is about to start in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, we will build offices in the surrounding areas also. UP has states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, we are keeping an eye on them there also. Hopefully, by the end of the year we will start our project in Uttar Pradesh.

Question : Why is it important to emphasize on rural development?

answer : We have to pay attention to two things. Rural Development and Research and Development. All 832 districts of the country are not prosperous. So the first step we have to take is research to increase invention in India. But the second step should be that all this development should not happen only in a few selected cities.

If all the jobs are in Bangalore and Mumbai then the entire country’s population will settle here. This will increase the pressure on our cities, which are already suffering from congestion. In such a situation, it is important that inventions come from villages and our small towns can also prosper.

Question: How will the Indian tech industry be affected by Artificial Intelligence?

answer : AI is currently a ‘black box’ like tool. It can work like an intelligent parrot, which can remember things easily, but we never know when someone’s personal data gets used. Therefore, the most important thing here is ‘data privacy’.

If we put our details directly on an AI model, then there is a possibility of that data being misused. Therefore, work will have to be done on privacy guarantee in AI. But AI can help increase productivity. In the next 5-10 years we will see that 10 software engineers are doing the same work as 100 people.

Question: How much impact will AI have on jobs in India?

answer : We can become best in any technology because our population is young. If we take the example of AI, we are learning it very fast. New technology will cause problems in countries where the population is elderly.

The second aspect is that new jobs will develop due to AI but there is definitely a threat to the existing jobs. We can’t stop it because being a software company, we can’t say no to technology. We can learn new skills so that we can develop new jobs.

Question : What is your opinion on the discussion of work life balance, why is stress increasing among the youth?

answer : The reason for increased stress among youth is increasing competition. Everyone wants a job with good salary… because of this, many people go to big cities and work and live alone. In such a situation, they do not have much to do, so they start spending 12-14 hours in the office. Then loneliness increases and stress occurs. Therefore, it is important that new jobs are brought in less crowded cities so that the youth do not stay too far away from their families.