'Iraq war, SARS not to affect Indian IT industry growth'

Wednesday, 09 April 2003, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: India's premier IT industry lobby Tuesday exuded confidence that the Iraq war and a fast-spreading killer pneumonia would not have an adverse impact on the revenue of high-profile software makers. "These are temporary phases. The IT sector has shown tremendous resilience even after 9/11," said Som Mittal, the newly appointed chairman of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom). "These issues may lead to delays in business transaction but customers will come back to us as the Indian IT industry add value to their businesses," Mittal, who is also the CEO of Digital Globalsoft Ltd., told a press conference here. Industry observers has said the Iraq war and the potentially fatal pneumonia Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which has spread fastest in Hong Kong and China, may deal a blow to tech industry as firms cancel business trips. Analysts expect India's blue-chip software makers to issue cautious earnings outlooks for the April-June quarter as a result of the war in Iraq. India's cost-effective and technically qualified software professionals cater to a wide customer range, including global financial giants, retail firms, and telecom equipment makers. This has helped the industry to log a 29 percent growth in software exports to $7.5 billion in the fiscal year ended March 2002 over the previous year. This compares with just $1 billion worth of software exports during 1996-97. "Despite the war and the virus fears global industry captains have been visiting India, so there is not much reason to worry. Indian companies are also investing on infrastructure," Mittal said. He said the Indian software companies were rightly positioned to reap the off-shoring wave by increasing their focus on new verticals and service lines.
Source: IANS
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