Andhra increases share in IT exports to 14%

Andhra Pradesh increased its share in the country's software exports to 14 per cent at Rs 18,582 crore during the year 2006-07, from 12.5 per cent in the previous financial year when the software exports from the state stood at Rs 12,521 crore, registering an year-on-year growth of 48 per cent. Over 35,000 new IT jobs were created during the same period.

Ranking fourth in the country in terms of value of software exports after Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in that order, Andhra has seen more than 50 per cent sequential growth in IT exports in last two years.

While the state has been consistently performing well above the national average, the increase in its share in total exports by 1.5 per cent in one year is quite significant, said C S Rao, IT advisor, Andhra Pradesh government.

Karnataka registered a 29 per cent growth in software exports which stood at Rs 48,000 crore, the single biggest chunk out of the country's total IT exports of Rs 1.34 lakh crore, during 2006-07, while Tamil Nadu achieved 46 per cent growth with software exports touching Rs 20,600 crore during the same period.

Started with a modest figure of Rs 60 crore worth of exports in the year 1995-96, the state took nine years to reach Rs 5,000 crore mark in 2003-04 and the figure had more than tripled in just three years after that.

With 29 IT SEZs on hand, Andhra hopes to reach the Rs 25,000-crore mark with a prospective growth between 35 and 40 per cent during the current financial year, according to S K Joshi, principal secretary, IT&C, Andhra Pradesh government.

Releasing the annual IT exports figures of the state, Manoj Kumar, director, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Andhra Pradesh, said that 24 companies had registered software exports worth over Rs 100 crore to up to Rs 500 crore last year, as compared with only 10 companies that achieved the feat during the previous year.

Five big software companies achieved exports over Rs 1,000 crore while three companies' exports ranged between Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore. The export turnover of 387 companies ranged between Rs 1 crore and Rs 100 crore, according to Manoj Kumar.

As per the STPI data, about 174 new IT and ITeS companies were registered in the state during the year 2006-07, including 34 foreign equity companies and 140 Indian companies. Over 60 per cent of these newly-registered Indian companies in Andhra are either home-grown or linked with non-resident entrepreneurs of Andhra origin, Kumar said. Over 1,300 IT and ITeS companies are currently operating in the state.

During the year 2006-07, these IT companies committed to invest Rs 1,900 crore with over Rs 600 crore each coming from foreign and Indian companies, while Rs 671 crore investments were projected to flow into the IT Parks. About 185 existing units have expanded their operations during the year.

IT services accounted for 44 per cent of the total IT exports while 33 per cent was contributed by ITeS and BPO. Enterprise applications and other services comprised the remaining 23 per cent.

State IT minister R Damoder Reddy announced that the government would soon be coming out with a new package to encourage small and medium companies including the establishment of an IT SEZ exclusively meant for the SME segment.