The Hindu : Business : Software and services exports to reach $47 b in 2008-09

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Thursday, Feb 05, 2009
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Software and services exports to reach $47 b in 2008-09

Sandeep Joshi

The BPO industry to see sustainable growth in the next two years

Exports to Europe registered the highest growth
Nasscom team to hold talks with new U.S. administration

— PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

CONFIDENT: Ganesh Natrajan, Chairman, flanked by Pramod Bhasin (left), Vice-Chairman and Som Mittal, President, Nasscom, at a meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: The information technology and the business process outsourcing sector exhibited resilience against global economic turbulence even as the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) on Wednesday estimated the software and services exports growth target at 16-17 per cent against 21-24 per cent to 16-17 per cent.

“Revenues from software and services exports are likely to reach $47 billion in 2008-09 against the earlier estimates of $50 billion, while the total IT-BPO industry, which accounts for 5.8 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, is expected to touch $71.7 billion in 2008-09,” Nasscom Chairman Ganesh Natarajan said here while releasing the performance and future trends of the IT industry in the current fiscal.

Nasscom report says that the domestic BPO market would grow by over 40 per cent, while BPO exports are estimated to register a growth of 17.5 per cent to reach $12.8 billion. Similarly, IT services exports are estimated to grow by 16.5 per cent to $26.9 billion, while software products and engineering services would grow by 14.4 per cent to $7.3 billion.

Stating that exports to Europe registered the highest growth, while the U.S. remains the dominant market, Nasscom President Som Mittal said that uncertain economic environment would prevail in 2009 and the Indian IT industry was likely to grow by 15 per cent annually till 2010-11.

Exports were likely to reach $60-62 billion by 2010-11.

“Due to strong fundamentals and other derivatives of value to customers, the industry will continue to grow despite global slowdown. The BPO industry will see sustainable growth over the next two years, Mr. Mittal added. The IT and BPO industry would generate new jobs, giving 22.3 lakh direct and 80 lakh indirect jobs.

Meanwhile, a high-level Nasscom team will be on a five-day visit to the U.S. next month to hold talks with the new administration there, top politicians, thinks-tanks and corporates to convince them of the benefits of outsourcing and immigration issues. Nasscom will also raise the ‘totalisation’ issue to avoid double taxation on income in the U.S. Indians with H1B or L1 visas contribute significantly to the US social security schemes every year, but do not the get benefits since India and the U.S. does not have a ‘totalisation’ agreement.

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