Nasscom sees flattish export growth next fiscal at 12-14 pc

IT-BPO industry body Nasscom today said currency volatility will result in the sector missing the earlier export growth target of 13-15 per cent this fiscal, and projected a flattish 12-14 per cent growth in FY16.
"In effect, we are in continuity of that percentage (achieved in FY15), not going up or down," the body's president, R Chandrashekhar, told reporters here.
For FY15, Nasscom said exports are likely to grow at 12.3 per cent on a reported currency basis, below the lower- end of the 13-15 per cent target set earlier, to USD 98.5 billion.
Nasscom Chairman R Chandrasekaran attributed the miss largely to a 0.8 per cent impact due to currency fluctuations, saying that if not for the movement in the non-dollar currencies, the growth number could have been 13.1 per cent.

Vice-chairman of the body, BVR Mohan Reddy, said up to 40 per cent of the forex revenues for IT companies come in from non-US dollar currencies which have been impacted, hence pulling down revenues.
Chandrasekaran said currency volatility, uneven economic recovery, volatility in oil prices and geopolitical tensions are the primary challenges for the next fiscal, where it has lowered its growth projection to 12-14 per cent.

The Nasscom targets are important from the external sector stability perspective as the IT industry now accounts for 38 per cent of the country's total exports.
When asked for the reasons for the marginal dip in the revenue growth guidance in FY16, Chandrasekaran said one should not "sulk" at this number and this does not actually amount to lowering of guidance, pointing that the base is also increasing.

"This is definitely not a poor number, we feel very proud about the number that we have targeted," Reddy added.