Software exports set to grow 60%: Nasscom

BANGALORE: Software exports from the country, which achieved over 50 per cent

of growth over the last few years, are expected to show a 60 per cent rise next

year.

According to National Association of Software Companies (Nasscom) president

Dewang Mehta, software exports are expected to touch Rs 27,500 crore in 2000-01

as against Rs 17,000 crore projected for the current year, posting about 62 per

cent growth.

The software industry is expected to earn $5.7 bn in 1999-2000, a growth of

approximately 50 per cent over the 1998-1999 figure of $3.9 bn. He added that

the Indian software industry was no longer dependent on Y2K related projects and

software exports are expected to grow at an even annual rate of 60 per cent.

The domestic software market is expected to grow from Rs 4,950 crore in

1998-99 to Rs 7,300 crore in 1999-00 and further to Rs 11,000 crore in 2000-01.

Software applications in the areas of banking, Internet banking, e-governance,

healthcare, defence and small office home office (SOHO) will contribute to this

growth.

Mr Mehta added, stating that the future holds good for the growth of domestic

IT industry, he said that it was expected to be of the size of Rs 1,61,000 crore

by 2008 by when software exports are expected to cross the $ 50 bn (Rs 217,500

crore) mark.

The prominent emerging sectors for software exports are e-commerce,

application service providers (ASPs), IT-enabled services, legacy-to-Web

communications software and systems-on-chip, Mr Mehta said.

According to a Nasscom survey Internet use in India is set to go up to 14 lak

from the current 6.1 lakh connections, while Internet users are expected to

increase to 5 mn by March 31, 2001 from the present 2.1 mn.

Mr Mehta said that if cable operators enter the IT revolution in a big way

then Internet use in India will increase manifold. E-commerce transactions are

projected at Rs 450 crore in 1999-00 and with cyber laws to be cleared and

implemented by mid-2000, Nasscom expects a 500 per cent growth in 2000-01 with

Rs 2,500 crore worth of online transactions in India.