The Hindu Business Line : Significant surge in IT sector exports likely: STPI Director

There is continued buoyancy in the technology sector, resulting in significant spurt in exports during the first five months this fiscal. Even as the South continues to attract new players, several of the existing companies are scaling up operations.

Stating this, Mr B.V. Naidu, in-charge of Bangalore and Hyderabad operations of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), told Business Line during his recent visit to Hyderabad that there was heightened recruitment and the first half this year witnessed close to 40,000 additional jobs in Bangalore, which is set to hit the four-lakh mark in total human resources.

Many large enterprises such as UBS, Thompson Financials, Wells Fargo and Honeywell, have begun operations in Hyderabad, and it is clear that the city is moving up higher in the value chain both in terms of scale of operations and also range of services, he said.

While in Hyderabad the IT exports are poised to touch the Rs18,000-crore mark (about $ 4 billion), up from Rs 12,500 crore last year, Bangalore is set to witness a growth of about 30 per cent from total exports of about Rs 37,500 crore.

In Bangalore, large players such as IBM, Accenture, Cap Gemini are looking to expand rapidly. The interesting aspect is several large companies, who do not have presence in Hyderabad are now looking to enter there. With infrastructure in place and the Government willing to support new technology firms, this can only get better, he said.

Commenting on Chennai, Mr Naidu said Chennai and Hyderabad are seen as two cities that can compliment each other in the areas of electronic manufacturing services sector and Hyderabad with Component Cluster, be it in the form of integrated circuits (ICs), or manufacture of semiconductors.

The issue of human resources continues to be a major challenge. The State Governments need to step up efforts to develop industry relevant manpower. As a part of expansion, most companies are developing in-house skill upgradation facilities. This means growth in tier-II cities is imperative from cheaper infrastructure point of view and the possibility of lower attrition levels.

Referring to the special economic zone (SEZs), Mr Naidu said there has been significant interest from the IT sector in setting up specialised SEZ.

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