Most of the top schools producing computer and software workers send their graduates abroad to the United States and Europe, where Indian high technology professionals are very much in demand. Investors fled from tech stocks after Nasdaq's fall Washington has recently promised to increase the number of visas for highly-skilled computer workers. Germany has said it is considering a similar scheme to meet its own shortage of IT professionals. Indian companies say they cannot compete with their counterparts abroad on salaries or benefits, although computer companies here pay well above national norms, even at the top end of the scale. This is all happening while India's unemployment rate among unskilled workers is soaring.
Economists say the only answer is a massive investment in primary and secondary education.
But, with the Indian budget deep in deficit for years to come, it is hard to see where the money is going to come from. This will be a real test of the government's commitment to making India an information technology superpower by the year 2010 - a promise made repeatedly by ministers in recent months. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Links to other South Asia stories are at the foot of the page.