Centre approves National policy on software products

The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the National Policy on Software Products, which proposes to develop India as a software product development centre and generate 35 lakh jobs in the sector by 2025.

The policy aims to build a cluster-based innovation-driven eco-system by developing 20 sectoral and strategically located software product development clusters, having integrated infrastructure, marketing support, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here.

In order to evolve and monitor schemes and programmes for the implementation of the policy, the National Software Products Mission will be set up with participation from the government, academia and industry, he said.

The policy, aimed at promoting the creation of a sustainable Indian software product industry driven by intellectual property, aims at a ten-fold increase in India's share of the Global Software products market by 2025.

The policy also proposes to nurture 10,000 technology startups in the software products industry, including 1000 such technology startups in Tier-II and Tier-III towns and cities, and generating direct and indirect employment for 3.5 million people by 2025, said the minister.