Nasscom lowers IT export growth to 7-8 per cent in 2017-18

Hyderabad: Hit by global political and economic uncertainties, the Indian IT industry's software exports are projected to grow at 7-8 per cent this fiscal (2017-18), which is lower than 8-10 per cent in the 2016-17 fiscal, the apex Nasscom said on Thursday.

"The outlook for the IT industry in fiscal 2017-18 is 7-8 per cent growth in exports and 10-11 per cent in the domestic market as against 10-12 per cent in 2016-17," the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said in a statement here.

The lower export outlook comes in the light of political and economic uncertainties that impacted decision-making and discretionary spend during the last fiscal (2016-17).

The $150-billion Indian IT industry includes revenues from Business Process Management (BPM), software services and software products. Their exports contribute about 80 per cent to the revenue, with the US market accounting for 60 per cent of it.

Noting that digital solutions and niche segments would be the key growth drivers, the industry's representative body said the revenue projection was based on improvements in financial services and high potential in digital business.

"The fiscal year will see growth driven by the modernisation of operations for client firms and the adoption of new technologies such as SaaS (Software As A Service) applications, cloud platforms, BI (Business Intelligence), cognitive and embedded analytics as enterprise customers scale digital projects," the Nasscom asserte.

Allaying fears of slowdown and job losses, Nasscom Chairman Raman Roy told reporters that the industry was expected to add 1.3-1.5 lakh jobs during the fiscal as it continued to be a net hirer with the demand for skilled professionals growing across its segments.

"The IT-BPM industry continues to demonstrate a sustained growth index. The industry has reinvented itself and its performance in the last fiscal (FY 2017) showcases how it has focused on building its digital solution offerings through a combination of business model changes and investment in products and platforms," said Roy.

The industry association, however, admitted that it was imperative for new and existing talent to reskill to prepare for emerging job roles which required new skillsets.

"Manoeuvring through an uncertain phase over the past year, the industry has maintained its status as a key net hirer in the country and global technology and services hub," claimed Nasscom President R. Chandrashekhar at the news conference.

One of the takeaways from the analysis of the industry performance in the last fiscal was the fast adoption of digital solutions by the Indian enterprise.

"The domestic market is expected to grow faster than the export market in this fiscal, driven by this trend," added the statement.