IT policy set to roll in by year-end with focus on GCC, jobs, research

New framework likely to keep a short-term target of 3 to 5 years

More than a decade after the National Policy on Information Technology (NPIT 2012) was introduced, the Union government is readying a new policy with changed goals and benchmarks. The policy is expected to be finalised by the end of this year, according to official sources.      

The core objectives of the new national IT policy would be to strengthen global capability centres (GCCs), improve engineering research and development (ER&D), and foster employment generation, it is learnt. Increased focus on creating IT products and skilling of the workforce will get attention too.

The policy would also have much bigger targets in terms of export of IT products and services. The targets will be defined for a shorter duration of three to five years keeping in mind the dynamic environment of the industry, said a senior government official.

“So, for five years we will have some good numbers, like how much export we want to achieve, and we will focus on that,” he added.

Queries sent to the IT ministry did not receive a response until the time of going to the press.  A formal presentation of the draft policy is expected to be made before Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw by the end of October or early November.

To frame the policy, industry wide consultations have been carried out across five major IT hubs — Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Bhubaneswar.

More than 100 top companies in the IT sector, including the top five IT services firms and several startups, were part of the process in sharing their inputs on the draft policy.

The scope of the policy could be broadened to include startups, but no decision has been taken on that yet. 

During the industry consultations, one of the key pieces of feedback the Ministry of IT (MeitY) got was that the IT policy should be broader, extending beyond just IT services, said the source.

“There should be a stronger focus on the Indian market, and the review period of the policy should be shorter and not 10 years,” he added.

The 2012 policy had set specific targets to propel the country's IT sector. It aimed to increase revenues from the IT and IT-enabled services (IT-ITeS) industry to $300 billion by 2020, generate 10 million additional IT sector jobs, and enhance exports from the sector.

According to IT industry association Nasscom’s estimates, India's tech industry stood at $250 billion in revenue as of FY24, marking a slower year-on-year growth rate of 3.8 per cent owing to global macroeconomic uncertainties. 

What's in store

> Formal presentation of draft policy likely by the end of October or early November

> Startups involved in tech space may also be covered

> Increased focus on creating IT products, skilling of the workforce