HYDERABAD: The talk of lagging behind other major centres in IT exports notwithstanding, the State is all set to achieve software exports in excess of Rs. 12,500 crores during the current financial year if the projections of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) are any indication.

Against the Rs. 8,270 crores exports last year, software exports have already reached Rs. 8,963 crores by the end of the third quarter marking more than 50 per cent growth and the progress is likely to continue during the last quarter, the STPI Hyderabad/Bangalore director, B.V. Naidu, has said.

Substantial increase

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said that the State's contribution in IT exports was likely to increase from 11 per cent to 15 per cent of the total national exports by the end of the year. The STPI was working towards taking the State's contribution to 25 per cent of the projected US $ 60 billion exports from India by the year 2010. The projected investments by the STPI units was expected to reach Rs. 1,015 crores including Rs. 763 crores being invested by the foreign equity firms and venture capital supported technology companies. Several major firms like Honeywell, an international retail major and a finance firm, were keen on setting up their facilities here and were likely to become operational by the end of the year.

Incubation facilities

He said the STPI was planning to create incubation facilities in tier-II cities like Tirupati, Vijayawada and Visakhaptnam besides a more than 100,000 sq.ft facility in Hyderabad. "There is a need to give visibility to these cities and give boost to the second wave of migration from major centres to tier-II cities," he said.

In this direction, one of the IT majors, Sharp, had firmed up its plans to set up a services support centre in Tirupati with a 45-member team while a couple of other companies were exploring options for investments in Kakinada.

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