IT emerges as the New Bombay for dreamy townies

In early 2002, Tripurari Mishra took a train from Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh after an argument with his father and found his way to Bengaluru, where he started his career as a security guard. Ambitious and bright, he burnt the midnight oil to learn software coding, a most useful skill in India's technology capital. Today, he is a project manager at Mindtree and an example of how India's information technology industry has been a magnet for those looking to get ahead in life.

In the 12 years since Mishra's life-changing train journey, the software industry has been through a severe downturn, losing some of its charm, but it has grown from $2.7 billion to $108 billion. Companies are using intelligent tools and automation to reduce dependence on humans. And the technology capital of India is now Bengaluru, not Bangalore. But the IT sector and Bengaluru are still a land of opportunity, drawing thousands of young people from across India.

Among them is Ajay, 23, who symbolises the "rags to riches" hope that the software industry engendered. Until last year, Ajay worked for nearly 20 hours daily — from waiting tables at a bar to scootering around as a McDonald's delivery boy. He was discovered by a Mindtree employee Jibin Joseph in October last year at the apartment where Ajay also worked as a watchman.

"I saw him reading a Java programming book and wanted to learn more," said Joseph. The next day, Joseph had a chat with colleagues at Mindtree, and Ajay was then invited for rounds of interviews at the company.

"When I was told I will have to work for eight hours every day at Mindtree, I couldn't believe — I was so used to working for 16-20 hours daily," said Ajay.

In August 2010, Ajay made it to PES-IT, an engineering college on the outskirts of Bengaluru. By the time he finished engineering degree in February 2012, he had built a robot as part of his engineering project and even spent months developing Android phone applications.

When Wipro, India's third-biggest software company made an offer of Rs 3.5 lakh in annual compensation, he thought life would change. But the offer never translated into a job because the economic slowdown kept delaying the actual joining date in 2013. Which is when he was forced to do three jobs, working almost without a break. All that earned him around Rs 17,000 every month, just enough to pay rent, fees for his sister's school and take care of the medical expenses for his mother.

IT sector continues to attract talent, Mishra and Ajay are not isolated examples. After three decades and several crises, the Indian IT industry continues to be a draw for young people seeking to enter the middle class. Bengaluru's startups have also begun to hire in the thousands, yet the IT sector holds a lot of allure.

Subroto Bagchi, Mindtree's co-founder and chairman, said the Indian IT industry is the "baseline" on which another high-tech startup activity is taking shape. "It is an industry where people are valued for what they know and not who they know," Bagchi said.