Trust will define the next phase of the digital era, as AI adoption depends on transparency, ethical systems, data privacy, and cybersecurity resilience.
India is emerging as a global innovation hub, moving beyond scale to ownership of platforms, products, and intellectual property amid expanding GCC mandates.
Women in tech are shifting from participation to influence, increasingly shaping business strategy, AI ecosystems, and global technology policy.
'Gender Gap in Deep Tech Remains a Challenge Globally,' Says SAP Labs' Sindhu Gangadharan
"India is positioned to lead the next phase of global technology value creation—if infrastructure, regulation and talent evolve in sync"
SAP Labs India MD and NASSCOM Chair Sindhu Gangadharan
Summary
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As the Managing Director of SAP Labs India and Chairperson of NASSCOM, Sindhu Gangadharan sits at the intersection of enterprise technology, policy dialogue, and industry transformation. In an exclusive conversation with Outlook Business on the occasion of International Women’s Day, she reflects on the evolving role of women in technology leadership, the growing strategic importance of India’s Global Capability Centers, and the shifting dynamics of global tech talent.
Gangadharan also speaks about the widening gender gap in AI and deep tech, and why trust in digital systems may emerge as the defining challenge of the next phase of the digital era.
Edited excerpts:
We often hear about the broken rung in the corporate ladder. How are women today moving beyond just being 'participants' in policy-making to actually architecting the corporate world? From your seat at SAP and Nasscom, how far have we truly come in moving from diversity as a metric to inclusivity as a business strategy?
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The conversation around women in the workplace has matured meaningfully in recent years. We are moving beyond simply counting representation to intentionally designing environments where women can build and scale impactful careers, and where their influence is visible in decision-making.
When organisations remove predictable friction points, women are better able to take on larger mandates, contribute to strategy, and shape business outcomes. Inclusion, in that sense, becomes a business imperative that strengthens innovation, sharpens customer insight, and builds organisational resilience.
The progress we are witnessing is real. Women are steering larger mandates, contributing to product strategy, leading customer transformations and shaping how companies think about the future of work.
While the digital economy is expanding rapidly, the gender gap in AI and deep tech remains stark. How inclusive is the AI ecosystem today — globally and within India?
The gender gap in AI and deep tech remains a shared challenge globally and within India. While women’s participation in STEM education and technology roles has improved significantly, there continues to be underrepresentation in advanced AI research, leadership positions and deep technical streams.
At SAP Labs India, the focus is not only entry, but progression — creating conditions for women to grow into deep-tech roles, leadership responsibilities and decision-making forums where the AI ecosystem is shaped.
Responsible AI is integrated discipline that helps ensure technology is inclusive, explainable and aligned to ethical standards.
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Historically, the battle for women in tech was about securing a seat at the table. Today, many women are leading that table. What, in your view, is the next frontier — particularly in shaping national and global technology policy for the next generation?
The tech sector has always been a bellwether for women’s participation. Women are now leading those tables and shaping organizational priorities.
The next frontier extends beyond corporate boardrooms into ecosystems that define the future of technology and society.
The focus will be on shaping how nations govern AI, build digital infrastructure, enable equitable data frameworks and craft technology standards that balance innovation with societal wellbeing. Women leaders must be present in national and global forums where technology policy, digital inclusion and ethical frameworks are being debated.
Another dimension will be cultivating the next generation of diverse innovators by investing in STEM pathways early and building mentorship and sponsorship bridges.
The goal is a future where leadership is defined by impact and ideas, not by gender.
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With the recent immigration crackdowns and the staggering hike in H-1B fees in the US, the 'Golden Ticket' for Indian engineers seems to be losing its luster. Do you see this as a 'Brain Gain' opportunity for India, where we finally retain our top 1% to build IP here, or does this isolationism pose a threat to the global collaborative spirit that SAP thrives on?
We see this as a moment of structural shift rather than constraint. India today stands at a powerful inflection point in its technology journey.
India’s technology industry is projected to reach $315 billion in revenue in FY26, growing at 6.1%. Headcount growth is expected at just 2.3%, signalling a transformation driven by AI-led productivity and operating model shifts. As highlighted in the nasscom Annual Strategic Review 2026, this is the year AI moved from experimentation to function-specific deployment.
This evolution underscores that India is no longer just a scale advantage; it is a value and innovation engine. With expanding GCC mandates and deeper ownership of platforms and products, India is increasingly a place where global intellectual property is conceived, built, and scaled.
At the same time, innovation remains inherently global. What we are witnessing is a more distributed model of innovation where leadership can emerge from multiple hubs, and India is firmly among the most significant.
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The Union Budget FY27 has been notably supportive of Global Capability Centers (GCCs), with the legislative intent leaning toward making India the 'world's back office and front office.' However, between policy and practice, there is often a gap. What are the biggest execution bottlenecks you see today, that could prevent us from hitting that projected $100 billion GCC revenue target?
Budget 2026 reflects the maturing of India’s technology economy and reinforces the country’s shift from scale to strategic ownership. The policy measures around cloud enablement, simplified tax frameworks and faster Advance Pricing Agreements reduce uncertainty and create operating confidence for long-term investment decisions.
However, sustained execution will determine whether India fully realizes the projected $100 billion GCC opportunity.
Infrastructure readiness must deepen, particularly in secure digital environments, resilient connectivity and cloud scalability as enterprises move from adoption to ownership of global platforms from India.
Regulatory simplification must translate into predictable and timely implementation across states and agencies.
Talent depth will be a defining differentiator as GCC mandates expand into AI, advanced engineering and platform ownership. Demand for specialized capabilities across data, cybersecurity, cloud architecture and systems design is set to accelerate.
If you had to name one crucial challenge that will define the next decade of the digital world, what would it be? Is it the energy cost of AI, the erosion of data privacy, or perhaps the 'trust deficit' in automated systems?
If I had to identify one defining challenge for the digital era ahead, it would be trust.
As AI and automation deepen their footprint in business operations, public services and societal infrastructure, the question of trust will determine the pace and scale of adoption.
Trust in digital systems encompasses data privacy, ethical AI behavior, system transparency, cybersecurity resilience and energy sustainability.Trust is foundational to scaling AI in enterprises, in public platforms and across communities.
When people trust digital systems, adoption deepens and the benefits of technology can be realized more equitably across societies.