BENGALURU: Highlighting the critical need to boost indigenous product innovation, Sanjeev Keskar, CEO of Arvind Consultancy, urged young Indian talent to bridge the gap between brilliant research ideas and industry applications. Speaking at the inauguration of the 3rd edition of the two-day International Conference on Emerging Research in Computing, Information, Communication, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning (ERCICAM-2026) at Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT), Keskar pointed out a stark reality of India’s tech ecosystem.
"While India possesses exceptional R&D talent, our technology sector currently yields only 15% value addition because foreign companies own most of the intellectual property," Keskar stated, emphasizing that true self-reliance depends on IP ownership. "Intellectual property holds 40% of a product's value, which we are currently missing out on."
Addressing early-stage startup failures, Keskar noted that too many young enterprises shut down within two years after exhausting their self-funded resources on unsustainable models. He cited copycat "me-too" products as a primary mistake and advised entrepreneurs never to spend on R&D without securing a mentor and conducting thorough market analysis to establish a clear market differentiator.
Presiding over the event, Dr. Sandeep Shastri, Vice President of Nitte (Deemed to be University), stressed the ethics of emerging technologies. "There is a critical necessity of prioritizing ‘human intelligence’ to guide and humanize the rapid advancements of artificial intelligence," Dr. Shastri remarked.
ERCICAM-2026 serves as an interdisciplinary global forum for advancing knowledge in AI, machine learning, computing, and communications. The 3rd edition received over 330 research submissions from international and domestic institutions—including the University of Texas at Arlington, King Khalid University, Osmania University, and Manipal University. Following a rigorous review process, 50 shortlisted papers will be published in Springer’s Scopus-indexed Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering (LNEE) series.
The inauguration commenced with a welcome address by Dr. H.C. Nagaraj, Principal of NMIT, while Conference Chair Dr. Nalini N briefed the audience on the milestones achieved across previous editions. Key dignitaries present included Rohit Punja, Trustee of Nitte Education Trust, and Dr. J. Sudheer Reddy, Vice Principal of NMIT. The event concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Sreekanth Rallapalli.
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