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Software exports at $50 bn by 2008: Nasscom

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CIOL Bureau
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GENEVA: The head of India's top software industry body, Nasscom, on Wednesday

said European growth would drive up the country's export revenues from software

and services by 30-35 per cent per year, valuing the export industry at $50

billion by 2008.

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Nasscom chairman Phiroz Vandrevala , told journalists the industry was

sticking to a prediction of 34 per cent average annual growth between 1998 and

2008.

"We believe that by the year 2008, India will be a $50 billion software

export industry," he said, adding that in the financial year to end March

2001, the industry exported around $6 billion.

"At this point in time... there seems to be no reason for us to revise

our target. Clearly a 30-35 per cent compound annual average growth rate in the

remaining seven years of our vision is achievable and sustainable." The

industry is expected to grow by around 30 per cent in the year to March 2002 --

a relatively poor performance.

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"That is lower than the 45-50 per cent that we recorded consecutively

for the last four to five years... but a 30 per cent growth rate in the current

global economic climate is something to be extremely proud of," Vandrevala

said.

The industry has earmarked Europe as its fastest-growing market and expects

Europe's share of revenues to rise to 26 per cent in the year to March 2002 from

24 per cent last year. "Internally within the industry we have set a target

that by the year 2004/2005, we would like to see at least 30 per cent of our

revenues coming from Europe," Vandrevala said.

"For European corporations to be globally competitive, they have to

source from the most competitive locations. That process is beginning to happen

and that gives us the confidence that the European market will continue to

grow," he said.

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India had not suffered too much from a slowdown in the North American market,

which traditionally accounts for around 65 per cent of revenues, he said.

"We are affected because as the global spending in IT slowed down, our

share has slowed down, but at the same time a very large number of significant

US corporations that previously did not do any work with India are now looking

at India.

"In the long term we believe the economic pressure will give us

significant benefits," he said.

(C) Reuters Limited.

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