New Delhi: Lakshmi Narayanan, vice chairman, Cognizant Technology Solutions, has taken charge as the Chairman of Nasscom for 2007-08. Dr Ganesh Natarajan, deputy chairman and managing director, Zensar Technologies Limited, has been appointed vice chairman.

Announcing the new appointments Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom said, "We are delighted to have Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan taking on the chairmanship of Nasscom. He has played an important role, both as a member and as Nasscom''s vice chairman last year. Mr. Lakshmi Narayanan, apart from leading one of the global IT companies, is also greatly respected in the industry for his entrepreneurial drive, guidance and leadership.

"With his direction, we are certain that Nasscom will attain even greater levels of maturity. We are also extremely pleased to have Dr Ganesh Natarajan take the position of vice chairman, Nasscom for 2007-08."

"Mr. Raju, as chairman of Nasscom in 2006-07, has contributed hugely to Nasscom and the Indian IT industry. Under his leadership, Nasscom accomplished a great deal in areas like security, education, quality and also released the Nasscom Crisil Report 2006, The Rising Tide - Employment and Output Linkages of IT-ITeS thereby highlighting the IT industry''s role in taking India''s economy forward.

"Mr. Raju will continue to remain involved with various initiatives that the industry and Nasscom undertake. His rich experience, deep knowledge and understanding of the industry and dynamism have been of great value to Nasscom," added Karnik.

"I am honoured to assume the chairmanship of Nasscom at a time when the industry is witnessing good buoyancy and is defining newer benchmarks globally," said. Lakshmi Narayanan. "At this stage of the industry''s evolution and maturity, the three areas that would receive enhanced focus are innovation, talent development, and security and data protection. The industry needs to bridge the demand and supply dynamics through focused and rapidly scalable talent development, ensure that the high levels of security and data protection become a strategic differentiator, and look at innovation as a sustainable growth engine", he added.

Natarajan Vice said, "The next two years will present challenges and opportunities in abundance for the industry and I look forward to joining the leadership team of Nasscom in these interesting times and enable both continuity and change to happen."