The annual survey on the performance of the Indian software and services sector (excluding hardware) and outlook for FY 2007-08 by the industry body NASSCOM has some good news. The Indian IT-ITES industry revenues will reach the $50 billion mark in FY 07-08. The IT-ITES sector recorded an overall growth of 30.7 percent during FY 06-07 as against a projected growth of 27 percent, clocking revenues of $39.6 billion. The software and services exports segment grew by 33 percent to register revenues of $31.4 billion while the domestic segment grew by 23 percent to register revenues of $8.2 billion in FY 06-07, up from $6.7 million.

IT services exports have grown by 35.5 percent to clock revenues of $18 billion; while ITES-BPO exports are up by 33.5 percent, registering revenues of $8.4 billion. Speaking on the industry’s performance, Lakshmi Narayanan, Chairman, NASSCOM and Vice Chairman, Cognizant Technology Solutions, said, “The growth has been made possible due to the outstanding performance of newer service lines namely engineering services and infrastructure management.” Kiran Karnik, President, NASSCOM stated that going ahead, gaming and entertainment will form the new thrust areas in the services segment.

However, a study conducted by Assocham on the IT and BPO sectors reveal that the annual growth of India’s IT and BPO industries may fall to 30 percent for the next four years. Compared to its counterparts around the world, both large and smaller companies in India have seen a faster growth globally at the expense of Western firms, says the study.