The demand for data scientists in India is growing in government agencies on par with private establishments due to a shortage of skilled manpower in the industry, an expert has said. Data scientists, who analyse ‘big data’ or high-volume, high-velocity data are required not only in industry sectors but also in agriculture and clinical research areas as well.
Industry experts at the recently held “Big Data and Analytics Summit 2014” said India would be short of two lakh data scientists over the next few years.
In India, the demand for data scientists in government agencies is on par with the demand in the private sector, according to Noshin Kagalwalla, country manager for SAS India, a subsidiary of SAS Inc., U.S., a global leader in business analytics software and business intelligence.
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“There is a gap of skilled manpower in the industry. To address such gaps almost all large organisations are using such analysts.”
“Such analysts are being used in a big way in government (for example, National Population Register) and public sector as well, as the data volume is huge,” Mr. Kagalwalla told reporters here via teleconference.
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SAS or Statistical Analysis System is a business analytics and business intelligence software.
The department of economics and statistics as well as the Maharashtra government have been using such software and data scientists, he said.
To bridge the gap, SAS has tied up with one of eastern India’s leading business schools, Calcutta Business School (CBS), to impart a certificate programme in business analytics to post graduate diploma (PGDM) students that would lead to a globally-recognised certification.
“The course will be spread over two years and will cost Rs. 50,000. The fundamentals will be taught by our own faculty and the technical aspects and SAS tools will be taught by their experts. We hope this will align the industry’s demands with academia,” said CBS director Goutam Sengupta.
Experts could be from India, Europe, or the U.S. This is the only such SAS programme in the eastern region. — IANS