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NEW DELHI, July 18

THE Indian information technology (IT) industry raked in revenues worth Rs 48,000 crore ($10.1billion) in 2001-02, growing at 27 per cent in rupee terms and 22 per cent in dollar terms over last year's Rs 37,760 crore ($ 8.26 billion), the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has said.

Nasscom said here that software exports grossed Rs 36,500 crore ($ 7.68 billion) in 2001-02 registering a growth of 29 per cent in rupee terms and 23 per cent in dollar terms over exports of Rs 28,350 crore ($6.2 billion) in 2000-01.

The domestic software market at Rs 11,500 crore grew by 16 per cent in rupee terms and 12 per cent in dollar terms over the previous year's Rs 9,890 crore ($2.17 billion), Nasscom said.

The association has forecast that exports would grow by 22 per cent during the current year to Rs 35,800 crore ($7.2 billion) while the IT-enabled services sector would clock a growth of 65 per cent to Rs 11,700 crore. The domestic market would grow by 15 per cent to Rs 13,200 crore in 2002-03

Despite 2001-02 being a very challenging year for the Indian software and services industry, the Nasscom annual survey reveals that the industry has proved to be resilient and continued to record impressive growth.

``The industry has crossed the $10 billion landmark figure on an increasing base and generated 92,000 new jobs and provided indirect employment to over 2,50,000 people in 2001-02,'' Mr Kiran Karnik, President, Nasscom, said.

Mr Karnik said the IT industry has led to a wealth creation of Rs 90,000 crore in the last six years and is expected to attract cumulative FDI worth $1.2 billion by 2005. ``This sector also contributed Rs 960 crore in direct taxes alone in the last year, which is significant when you compare this to any other sector," he added.

Nasscom's annual industry survey revealed that the Top 20 Indian software companies accounted for 48 per cent of the total software and service exports. The MNC segment emerged as an important contributor to the total software and services export revenue with a share of 27 per cent. This included a share of 22 per cent in IT services and 45 per cent in IT-enabled services.

``The interesting trend seen during the year was the tremendous growth in offshore delivery. Billing through offshore increased by 64 per cent to Rs 18,000 crore in the year 2001-2002 from Rs 10,950 crore in the year 2000-2001. In comparison to this, onsite billings increased by seven per cent from Rs. 15,900 crore in 2000-2001 to Rs 17,000 crore in 2001-2002,'' said Mr Karnik.

As per the Nasscom survey, the onsite-offshore ratio of Indian software and service exports is now at 50:50. A few years back, onsite exports accounted for almost 80 per cent of India's total software and services exports.

The Nasscom annual survey has covered 2,800 companies, including Indian software companies, Indian product and service companies, mid-sized and small software companies, third-party Indian ITES providers, multinational software companies and leading captive remote services companies.

The survey found that there was consolidation in existing service lines and encouraging growth in new service lines during the last year. Customer application development and maintenance increased from Rs 11,375 crore ($2.5 billion) to Rs 12,588 crore ($2.65 billion) in 2001-02 and application outsourcing grew from Rs 7,737 crore ($1.7 billion) to Rs 8,788 crore ($1.85 billion).

Amongst the verticals, BFIS (Banking, Finance and Insurance Services) continued to dominate with its share increasing to 22 per cent in 2001-2002 from 20 per cent during 2000-2001. Similarly contribution from telecom also increased to 14 per cent in 2001-02 from 12 per cent in 2000-01. Manufacturing was one of the highest growth verticals with its share increasing from 12 per in 2000-01 to 16 per cent in 2001-02.

Out of the total software exports of Rs 36,500 crore during 2001-02, almost 63 per cent was to the Americas (USA, Canada and Latin America); 26 per cent to Europe; 4 per cent to Japan; and 7 per cent to rest of the world.

The US continues to be India's largest export destination for more than a decade. Currently, more than 270 Indian companies have set up offices, subsidiaries and marketing alliances in USA.

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