PUNE: Amid talks of a slowdown, the state’s software exports show an upward trend, in spite of a bad start to last fiscal. The last fiscal began with a strengthening rupee against the dollar, which hit the US-focussed sector, followed by lower order levels from September, when the western economies started to slow down.
Maharashtra’s IT exports have risen a healthy 24%, at Rs 10,000 crore, to a total of Rs 42,000 crore in 2008-09. What’s more, some software companies, including small-and-medium enterprises, are looking to expand their operations, SK Agarwal, director, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Maharashtra, told ET.
Pune continues to dominate the state’s IT exports, contributing more than half of the total at around Rs 25,000 crore, followed by Mumbai at Rs 16,000 crore. STPI units in Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Kolhapur and Goa contributed the balance, with all of them registering a similar growth in revenues. “We have seen attrition and layoffs reduce to negligible levels. We are seeing a mixed trend where some companies are reducing employees while some are hiring. Around 20 companies from Pune are looking for additional space to expand,” Mr Agarwal said.
The healthy growth is indicative of the fact that US President Barack Obama’s opposition to outsourcing has not worried companies here. “Outsourcing is an economic compulsion for companies in the US than political. We expect more work to come to India and a similar growth in IT exports next year,” Mr Agarwal said.
Confirming Mr Agarwal’s point, Abhijit Atre, former president of the Software Exporters Association of Pune, an industry body, said: “Retrenchment has stopped at most companies, though the larger ones are not hiring at this point. Interestingly, mid-segment companies are getting new projects and have started hiring, which could be 10-15%.”
However, Mr Atre sought to play down growth in IT export revenues. “These figures are higher because of the appreciation of the rupee.”.
He added: “Software-as-a-service companies are doing very well and are on the path to revival. American projects that were stalled earlier are now flowing in, particularly to small and mid-segment companies which held themselves up during the slowdown. European companies, which were earlier conservative in sending work to India, have started doing so in the last quarter.”
The work on the 12 IT SEZs in and around Pune is in progress as planned, with minor aberrations in the schedule, STPI’s Mr Agarwal said. He is also the development commissioner for IT / ITES SEZs in Maharashtra and Goa. “Though the work in these SEZs is on track, we have given a year’s extension to the licences of operation to those companies who had applied for it earlier.”
Source : The Economic Times