IT exports growth likely to dip this fiscal

KOLKATA: Recession in the US, the principal market for the Indian IT/ITeS industry, is likely to take its toll on Indian IT exports. According to the Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), IT exports have already been hit in the April-September period and are likely to grow at best at 20-22% this fiscal compared to the 35% growth achieved in 2007-08.

ESC has some 2,300 Indian IT and BPO companies under its fold and accounts for nearly 95% of the country���s electronics and IT exports valued at $48.2 billion in 2007-08.

The council has now set a revised IT export target of $58 billion for this fiscal. It has also started lobbying with the Centre to dole out special incentives to the domestic IT industry to tide over the bad time.

���IT export growth has slid in the first six months of this year to 22% and we estimate that it might grow at best by 20% in the second half. We are taking stock of the situation and actively promoting a market diversification strategy for the Indian companies. The target markets now should be Africa, Latin America and the ASEAN nations,��� ESC executive director DK Sareen told ET.

Mr Sareen said ESC has started discussions with the union IT and finance ministries to extend the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme and provide 100% income tax exemption for software and hardware exports. The STPI scheme is due to expire on March 31, 2010. ���If both the demands are implemented, it will provide respite to the IT companies hit hard by external factors, especially the SME ones,��� he said.