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Uncertainties over the Telangana issue may be still lingering over certain pockets of the industrial landscape of Andhra Pradesh, with prospective investors still not willing to open their purse strings as yet. But one sector that beat these uncertainties is clearly the IT and ITES sector.
This sector is set to outdistance its performance last fiscal in terms of all major parameters such as exports, fresh investments, employment generation and office space sold.
Going by latest figures, the State has registered an export turnover from the IT & ITES sector of Rs 25,000 crore this fiscal up to December 2010, against Rs 18,000 crore during the same period in the last fiscal. Industry players estimate that the export turnover could well be in the region of Rs 40,000 crore, against Rs 33,842 crore ($7 billion) in 2009-10.
The State Government is however cautious in its projections. “As of now, I can say that the export turnover will certainly cross Rs 36,000 crore. Over and above this, how much additional turnover we can notch up will depend on the performance (of the sector) in the next two months. The last quarter always gives us the maximum revenue for the year,” Ms K. Ratna Prabha, AP Principal Secretary, Information Technology and Communications, told Business Line on the sidelines of an IT brochure launch meet on Thursday.
The latest round of Telangana agitation had started, in fact, during the last quarter of 2009-10, but its shadow over fresh investments coming into the State had deepened in the first half of the current fiscal.
The sector also beat projections in terms of fresh investments. So far this fiscal, the sector in the State saw a flow of investments worth Rs 5,500 crore, against Rs 4,500 crore in the whole of last fiscal. Further, the fresh employment generated by this sector was 15,000 so far, against 12,000 in 2009-10.
Office space
“This fiscal, about 42 lakh sq. ft of office space was bought by IT firms compared with a total of 87 lakh sq. ft in the previous three fiscals. We will come to know the firms which bought new spaces after we compile the data for the full year,” Ms Ratna Prabha said.
In an effort to boost SMEs and start-up companies, the AP Government is set to ink a pact with the Israeli Government, under which the latter will provide support in terms of consultancy and marketing for such ventures. “We may sign the MoU in March. The Israeli Government is known for its support to start-up companies,” she said.
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