If American students aren’t going to take up computer science, Indian students will. SiliconIndia.com and Hindu Business Line report, “Rising salaries and a growing software industry may have made IT one of the most sought-after careers for Indian students. An estimated 73,500 engineering graduates are expected to take up hi-tech jobs this fiscal [year].”

The article cites the Taulbee Survey’s finding that American CS enrollments have fallen by 19 percent, although this statistic was considered somewhat out of context. Nonetheless, the article gives a clear indication as to how the Indian technology press is covering workforce issues: America is losing IT workers and India is picking up the slack.

India is creating not just new computer scientists, but jobs as well:

“In software alone, 120,000 new jobs are likely to be created this year, against 110,000 in 2004-05, and 50,000 in 2001-02,” Sunil Mehta, Vice-President of Nasscom, said.

Nasscom expects 73,500-84,000 engineering graduates to go for IT jobs in the current financial year, compared to 56,000-64,000 in 2004-05. The balance will flow from the B.Sc stream with students opting for GNIIT courses, as well as students from other disciplines going in for diplomas. [Typos corrected. -DMR]

To put this in context, it appears that India and the United States will produce roughly the same number of computer science and engineering graduates in per capita terms next year. What’s particularly important to note is that India’s enrollment statistics are trending up, while America’s are stagnating or declining.