As Software Exports scale up to Touch US$110 Billion in 2015-16 ESC envisages great potential in enhancing exports of Computer Software and Services, Electronics and Hardware , Embedded Technologies and IP based software products from the State of West Bengal and the eastern region of India
Kolkata, July 2, 2015 – Mr. Saumen Chakraborty, Chairman, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) said that there is great potential in enhancing exports of Computer Software and Services-ITeS, Electronics and Hardware , Embedded Technologies and IP based software products from the State of West Bengal and the eastern region of India. West Bengal which is ideally positioned to act as the gateway of exports to the eastern part of the world has a large potential of IT & ITeS based quality human capital which can open up new market opportunities in countries like Japan, Korea, Australia and the neighbouring SAARC countries particularly in the emerging potential areas of embedded technology and software IP driven products and services. With renewed focus on enhancing exports from the small and Medium enterprises ESC would plan initiatives to boost the export potential from this region generating a new era of Digital entrepreneurship in the state. ESC would take up the discussions with the state government in this area.
Mr. Chakraborty observed that the press conference is coming close on the heels of the launch of the Digital India program of the government of India. Being a stakeholder, ESC realizes that it has to play a major role in the success of the program. This will herald a new revolution in India’s digital space. The spinoff of the new digital trajectory is manifold such as permeating the digital advantage to the common man, creating newer business opportunities domestically, motivating worlds’ largest digital players like Microsoft, IBM to up their operations in India and importantly permeating cutting edge digital technologies. It will have two advantages: One, creating scope for newer Indian start-ups and two, transforming India’s digital space to the next level of excellence. “ It will also help shore up India’s software exports by strengthening the digital infrastructure and ushering in convergence of technologies, which can lead to evolution of newer products and solutions for the global markets where the state of West Bengal can take a leadership position.” he added.
Mr. Chakraborty pointed out that Make in India program and creation of 100 smart cities and rejuvenation of 500 existing cities will have a profound impact on the ICT sector in India, particularly the electronic hardware production and exports from the country. India is posed with a unique problem on the hardware front. By 2020, India’s hardware imports likely to zoom to US$ 400 billion as against a domestic production of US$ 100 billion, leaving a gap of US$ 300 billion. At this rate, by 2020, India’s import bill on account t of electronics hardware will surpass that of the oil bill, posing a major challenge to the current account balance. It is necessary to empower Indian companies to invest in electronics hardware by incentivizing production to ward off such eventualities, particularly in micro chips, which constitutes a major chunk of India’s electronics imports.
While addressing a press conference in Kolkata today, the newly elected chairman of ESC hoped that despite the likely cliff hangers that the world trade is exposed, prospects of software export pick is optimistic riding on the back of a smart recovery of the US market. Macro-economic variables of the US economy, such as employment growth, manufacturing pick up, monetary stability etc. are redeeming features. “Our software exports is still US centric accounting for 58% and the smart recovery of the US market will mean newer opportunities for us to move up in the value chain. Interestingly, EU accounts for 29% of India’s export of software, of which, exports to UK is close to 18 %. Experts believe that the UK will remain insulated from the present financial crisis,” he adds.
He went on to say that the Greek financial crisis will have only nil or marginal impact on the software exports from India since software exports to Eurozone (excluding UK) is hardly 11% of the total exports”
Taking into consideration, these factors, Mr. Chakraborty mentioned that ESC has projected that India’s software exports will be US$ 109 billion for 2015-16 as against US$ 97 billion in the previous year, registering a growth of 12%.
Mr. DK Sareen, Executive Director, ESC listing out the measures being taken by the ESC to maintain India’s head start in the software exports said that the organization will roll out the following programs in the near future:
- COMMON FACILITY CENTRES in the US, which will be a unique initiative for Indian IT SMEs in particular to explore the gigantic US market. This will be a cost effective project for SMEs to penetrate into the highly competitive and complex US market
- Big ticket programs to up India’s IT share in Japan. In this regard, an IT Week 2015 was held there participated by 69 Indian IT companies, which exhibited under its banner a wide range of products and solutions.
- Programs for upping India’s market share in emerging markets like Latin America, Africa, CIS and Middle East. It is regularly providing opportunities to IT entrepreneurs and companies from these regions to visit India and to interact with Indian counterparts to clinch businesses and to form joint ventures in sectors like e-learning, e-governance, etc.
- Empowering Indian SMEsfor taking part in trade fairs and exhibitions held across world such as GITEX Dubai, CeBIT Germany, Electronica …etc.
- Its increasingly popular B2B events INDIASOFT & INDIA ELECTRONICS EXPO held in India are becoming sought out platforms for B2B operations for Indian and foreign IT entrepreneurs. Efforts are underway to make the 2016 editions of the ESC signature events more participatory both from Indian and foreign sides
Small and Mid sized Software exporting companies from the state of West Bengal can Benefit greatly from the above mentioned initiatives of ESC on a global scale.