India’s IT services exports to touch $98 billion in 2015-16: NASSCOM
India’s services exports seem to be headed towards the revival path with improvement in global economic climate and increasing investment on technology, say experts. According to the government data, services exports from India witnessed a fall of around 4% during the last financial year. However, between 2002 and 2012, the country’s overseas trade in services grew from $20.76 billion to $142.32 billion. In April this year, services exports from the country were worth $13.01 billion, down from $13.63 billion registered in April last year. But, the sector is hopeful to regain the upward trend in the coming months. “While there has been a dip in India's services exports, we are confident that driven by an improvement in the global economic climate and rise in the technology spend, 2015 is going to be a good year for services export,” said industry body NASSCOM. In the overall services exports from the country, the share of information technology sector is expected to touch $98 billion, growing at more than 12% year-on-year. “In FY 2015, the Indian IT-BPM industry is estimated to account for revenues of $146 billion, growing by 13% over the last year. Industry exports are over $98 billion growing at 12.3%, while the domestic segment, which has benefited from the inclusion of e-commerce and mobile app industry, is estimated to touch $48 billion,” NASSCOM told The Dollar Business in a written response to a query. About the recent down fall in the export value, the industry body said that the sector is facing uncertainty due to volatility in currency exchange market. “NASSCOM is hopeful that the market will stabilize in the coming months, and stands by its guidance of revenues growth (including e-commerce) of 12% - 14%,” it said. Service providers in the country say that unethical practices adopted by a few un-organised players have also dampened India’s image in the global market. “One of the major reasons for falling services exports is mushrooming of un-organised service providers. In the name of technical support, many people are fooling clients in the US and other countries by selling them services which are not required for them. Many of them are involved in unethical practices like data stealing and leaking. The confidence level of clients goes down due to such activities and clients start looking for other service providers, Paramjit Anand, Executive Director of Acreaty Management Consultants, told The Dollar Business. Indian service providers are losing out a large number of outsourcing contracts to Philippines and other countries in the sub-continent where labour is cheaper and people are equally competent in English accent and other skills. However, analysts say that the rapid pace of technology transformation has created optimism for the Indian IT-BPM (Business Process Management) industry and prompted innovation across practices and operations. “A gradual revival in consumer confidence leading to return of discretionary spending and increased demand from US and Europe will help drive exports this year. The US continues to be the largest geographic market for India. Indian IT-BPM continues to remain the highest impact sector among all industries with the highest relative share in India's GDP and exports among all services industries,” NASSCOM said. Services sector contributes up to 60% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP).
June 29, 2015 | 5:46 pm IST.
to success.