'IT exports to grow 12-14 percent in 2016'

Mumbai, Feb 11 (IANS) Indian IT exports, including software services and products are projected to grow 12-14 percent in the ensuing fiscal (2015-16), the industry's representative body Nasscom said Wednesday.

"IT exports will grow 12-14 percent to reach $110-112 billion and domestic market by 15-17 percent to touch $55-57 billion in next fiscal (FY 2016)," National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said on the margins of its leadership forum here.

The IT-BPM (business process management) industry had a robust growth this fiscal (2014-15), with aggregate revenues expected to be $146 billion, including $99 billion from software exports, registering 13.1 percent annual growth in constant currency and 12.3 percent in reported currency.

"We expect the industry to add $20 billion in FY 2016 to the overall revenues of $146 billion in FY 2015, Nasscom president R. Chandrashekhar said on the occasion.

Exports to the US, the largest market grew above industry average (60 percent), aided by an economic revival and higher technology adoption, while demand from Europe remained strong during the first half of the fiscal, but softened during the second half due to currency movements and economic challenges.

Fuelled by e-commerce business, the domestic market is expected to grow 14 percent this fiscal (FY 2015) to $47 billion.

"The current fiscal brought in overall optimism for the industry and is expected to meet guidance for the year in constant currency," Chandrashekhar pointed out.

The engineering and research and development (R&D) services segment witnessed the fastest growth at 13.2 percent, driven by higher value-added solutions from vendors and expansion of the GIC (global in-house centre) landscape.

"Digital solutions around SMAC (social, media, analytics and cloud services), upgrading legacy systems to be SMAC-enabled, greater demand for AERP, CRM, mobility and user experience technologies is driving growth in IT services," Chandrashekhar noted.

Digital solutions accounted for 12-14 percent of the industry revenues.

The industry also evolved during the year and prioritised on enhancing efficiency, enabling transformation and agility and partnering for digital initiatives.

"Infrastructure outsourcing and software testing segment also outpaced the industry growth rate. The BPM sector is being driven by greater automation, expanding omni-channel presence, application of analytics across the value chain, Chandrashekhar said.

Nasscom also revealed that digitisation, internet of things, agile entrepreneurial ecosystem and improving business environment were the highlights of the industry over the year.

"The year also witnessed hyper-growth in the start-up and product landscape and India ranked as the fourth largest startup hub in the world, with over 3,100 startups across the country," the former telecom secretary asserted.

Manufacturing, utilities and retail growth remained strong as clients increased discretionary spend on customer experience, digital, analytics, ERP updates and improving overall efficiency.

The sector continued to be one of the largest employers in the country, directly hiring 3.5 million professionals, adding over 230,000 employees during the fiscal.

"India is jumping the technology maturity curve and is emerging as a digital economy. The recent official announcements on Digital India', Make in India' and Skilling India' are creating a renewed thrust on the domestic market," Chandrashekhar added.