Software exports to cross Rs 23,000 cr. in 1999-2000: ESC

BANGALORE: Software and electronics exports from the country is expected to amount to Rs 23,615 crore in 1999-2000, clocking a growth of 33 per cent over the previous fiscal year, the Electronics and Computer Software Exports Promotion Council (ESC) has said.

During 1998-99, the total value of software and electronics exports stood at Rs 17,775 crore, with the software sector alone accounting for Rs 12,500 crore, the ESC chairman Vivek Singhal said. In the first half of the current year, total software and electronics exports had touched Rs 10300 crore, achieving a growth of 37.1 per cent over the same period last year. ESC, which has been brought under the newly set-up Ministry of Information Technology, would focus on widening the export base of small and medium enterprises towards attaining India's goal of $50 billion in software exports by 2008, he said.

"A large number of small and medium enterprises are technically competent to enter the export market but lack information and marketing support. We will now focus on helping these firms by offering entrepreneur assistance of networking and market research, visa assistance help-line and market development assistance,'' he said. Stating that there was some regional imbalance in terms of IT development between north and south India, Mr Singhal said the Government must take steps to attract more investments in the sector in the northern and eastern parts of the country.