ICT is key for economic growth: WEF study

Indian Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector played an important role in fostering productivity, providing opportunities for citizens and proving a growth catalyst for the economy, says a World Economic Forum study.

"ICT has been essential to improving service provision and reaching out to the less-advantaged segments of the population, especially in rural areas," WEF Chief Business Officer Robert Greenhill said.

The Indian information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services-business process outsourcing (ITeS-BPO) industry has made significant contributions to India's economic growth in terms of GDP increase, foreign exchange earnings and employment generation.

The Indian IT industry is estimated to be $50 billion market.

"With its large talent pool of English-speaking IT professionals, India is well positioned to fully leverage ICT to leapfrog to higher stages of development, reduce poverty and regional income disparities," WEF Senior Economist and editor of the study Irene Mia said.

Besides directly impacting the country's economic growth, the sector is also having a multiplier effect across industries, wherein it indirectly contributes to the national economy and to better living conditions in a variety of ways.

India displays competitive strengths in areas related to human resources, preparation and willingness to use ICT by citizens, businesses and the government.

In particular, ICT has increasingly been prioritised in the government development agenda as a key enabler of economic diversification and more universal service provision.

The study also analyses India's advances and challenges related to ICT development for enhanced competitiveness.

Also, comparisons have been made with a number of countries, including China, Indonesia, the US and Brazil, revealing significant differences in its performance.

It underlines remarkable strides that India has made in the last two decades, emerging as a global player in sectors such as ITeS-BPO and by increasing ICT penetration and diffusion within its territory.

At the same time it highlights and discusses the challenges ahead as well as the opportunities for exploiting India's many competitive advantages better when it comes to networked readiness.