Software industries have a great potential for export and play a crucial role in
Information Technology (IT), the use of which is fast becoming the key for
competitiveness in any industry. These industries constantly develop new products
and innovative applications. IT is also expected to fuel the development of next generation
technologies in other disciplines such as scientific, engineering and industrial applications.
The software industry is expected to grow and touch Rs. 1,00,000 cr more by 2010.
India began to focus on the software industry in the beginning of the 1990s. Indiaís total
sales volume was US$10.23 bn, contributed by about 6,000 enterprises and 400,000
employees. In terms of software exports, China has been left behind by India. According to
the survey done by the China Software Industry Association, software exports from China
were of the value of US$0.72 bn in 2001, US$0.4 bn in 2000 and US$0.25 bn in 1999. The
Indian software industry reached US$7.78 bn in 2001 with a growth rate of about 25%
despite a slowdown in the world economy. The Indian software output is expected to
cross US$85 bn, including US$50 bn exports by 2008. It is to be noted that India is the
second largest software exporting country after the US. It seized the opportunity provided
by the Y2K crisis and the transformation of the euro currency to develop its software sector
rapidly through software contracting and services. Out of the 57 software companies that
have reached CMM 5 level, 42 companies are from India. |
