Having put up a positive show during fiscal year 2008-09 — with about 18 per cent growth, the outlook of the State’s software industry looks positive in the current financial year also. Software exports from India were valued at $49.5 billion in 2008-09, which was 14 per cent more than that in 2007-08, of which, software exports from Karnataka were to the tune of Rs 67,426 crore during 2008 -09 as against Rs 58,500 crore in the previous year. Principal IT Secretary Ashok Kumar Manoli said “Software exports from SEZ units in Karnataka was Rs 4,550 crore during the financial year 2008-09 compared to Rs 1,300 crore in the previous fiscal.”
The State also saw registration of 84 new companies and an investment of Rs 464 crore in FY 08-09.
Though it continued its leadership in software exports, the hardware exports from the state witnessed a drop. Hardware exports for the year 2008-09 was at Rs 2,930 crore compared to Rs 3,100 in the year 2007-08, a drop of 5.4 per cent.
Manoli said the Kitwen fund, the Venture Capital wing of the state government for the IT sector, has made big strides by giving help to companies just starting up.
Manoli said it has invested about Rs 20.46 crore in 17 companies. Kitwen is the first kind of VC fund for helping the IT sector in the state. Southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu also witnessed a steady growth in software exports.
While Kerala’s software export grew by 43 per cent in the year 2008-2009 and revenue was Rs 2,300 crore, software exports from the state was Rs 1,750 crore in the year 2007-08. Infopark Kochi, IT park promoted by the Kerala government, said its exports almost doubled last fiscal to touch Rs 600 crore.
IT software exports from Tamil Nadu grew by 29 per cent in 2008-09 from Rs 28,426.02 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 36,680.40 crore and the hardware exports too grew marginally over 2007-08 from Rs.261.87 crore to Rs.263.13 crore in 2008-09 according to data released by STPI Director J Parthasarathy.
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