Andhra software exports likely to touch all-time high

IT software exports from Andhra Pradesh during 2004-05 are said to have reached an all-time high representing nearly 60 per cent growth as compared to the exports in 2003-04. This jump in software exports in a single year is a rare feat for the state.

The software exports from the state last year are expected to have touched anywhere between Rs 8,000 crore and 8,500 crore as compared to Rs 5,025 crore in 2003-04, which is far beyond the growth forecasts. It may take another fortnight for the final figures to emerge.

"I predicted that the total volume of exports during last year would touch a figure anywhere between Rs 7,000 crore and Rs 7,500 crore, which I considered as a liberal projection when compared to other conservative estimates. But the actual trends, which are now available, have proved my projections otherwise," C S Rao, IT advisor to Andhra Pradesh government, told Business Standard quoting the trends available at present with the trade bodies such as STPI and Nasscom.

Rao attributed the increased growth to the proactive role played by the Rajasekhara Reddy's government in promoting the IT industry in the state during the last eight-month period.

"Apart from other factors that helped the IT companies in the state to net more export volumes, the state government's investor-friendly decisions too have had its impact on the performance of IT sector," Rao observed.

The state government has drawn up ambitious plans to push Andhra Pradesh to the third place in IT exports in the country, envisaging both infrastructure and human resource development in Hyderabad and several tier-II cities in the state.