Government likely to release policy for software products industry soon

NEW DELHI:The government may soon release the draft of a policy that seeks to help the software products industry in the country grow like IT services sector, for public consultation. The policy on software products, which is aimed at creating an ecosystem for the industry and address key issues it faces, is in the process of being drafted and is likely to be announced by IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad during the two-year celebration of the Narendra Modi government later this week, a government official said.

“The main idea behind the policy is to address the basic issue that India has done so well in the area of IT services, but there is a huge market which is yet to be tapped in terms of software products,“ said the official who requested not to be named.

The person said the country has innovative companies that have the potential to bring out world class software products. “There are already some companies doing a great job, we have to figure out a way of how to support the eco system further in terms of providing encouragement through incentives and various other measures,“ said the official.

The draft policy is expected to be out for public consultation in the next couple of weeks. Over the last 12-18 months, a significant number of software product companies have come up in the country and experts say the industry could flourish if the government provides the right support.

According to estimates, Indian software products industry index grew by 26.6% in 2015. About 80% of this growth came from companies focused on global markets. Druva, Freshdesk, Capillary, Nandan Nilekani-backed Team Indus, Forus Health, Julia and car firm Savari are examples of product companies that have made a name recently.