Growth of Indian IT Industry

I got a chance to talk about India IT industry while I was on a business trip to Norway and Sweden. The topic was more on how Indian IT companies driving the revenues and still managing the margins even while being so big in size and about how Indian IT business differentiator is being managed to win large deals. Also, how account management means a great element of importance to IT companies in India.

But, that’s not all about IT industry.

Indian IT Industry is set to cross a milestone: revenues will exceed $100 billion this year. This achievement is better appreciated when one recalls that just 20 years ago, its size was only about half-a-billion dollars.

Now providing livelihood to about 10 million people (including 2.8 million directly employed), it is the largest recruiter in the organized private sector. It is also amongst the biggest foreign exchange earners for the country.

These figures convey the outstanding success of this sector; yet, its qualitative impact is, possibly, of even greater import. First, it has transformed the global image of India and Indians: today, both are seen as winners. Second, it has energized the country's higher education sector, especially in engineering and computer science.

Third, it has contributed to social transformation by providing lucrative jobs to lakhs from small towns and even villages and gender equality, through its extensive employment of young women. Finally, and most importantly, it has brought hope to young people, who - thanks to the opportunities in this sector - view the future with optimism.

Looking ahead, it is clear that the Indian IT industry will face many serious challenges: technological, managerial and geopolitical. Competition from other countries will intensify, and supply-side constraints increase. Human resources, infrastructure and a comparatively adverse business environment - thanks mainly to unpredictable interpretation of tax laws by overzealous, collection-driven officials - will pose problems.

Yet, there are also growing opportunities: new areas of work, emerging markets, new technologies, innovation in product, process and business models. Amongst the most exciting of these are opportunities within India. Many of these have the potential of doing good while doing well, contributing to social benefit even as profits are made.

In this area of societal applications of technology, the possibilities in India are immense and limited only by imagination - and sometimes by regulatory barriers. The national e-governance programme (NEGP) provides many examples of how technology could be used to bring greater efficiency, transparency and even accountability in government activities, especially those related to citizen services

And I am happy to be part of this revolution.