Information technology in India


Information Technology in India is an industry consisting of two major components: IT services and business process outsourcing. The sector has increased its contribution to India's GDP from 1.2% in 1998 to 7.7% in 2017. According to NASSCOM, the sector aggregated revenues of 180 billion in 2019, with export revenue standing at 99 billion and domestic revenue at 48 billion, growing by over 13%. As of 2020, India's IT workforce accounts for 4.36 million employees. The United States accounts for two-thirds of India's IT services exports.

History

India's IT Services industry was born in Mumbai in 1967 with the creation of Tata Consultancy Services who in 1977 partnered with Burroughs which began India's export of IT services. The first software export zone, SEEPZ – the precursor to the modern-day IT park – was established in Mumbai in 1973. More than 80 percent of the country's software exports were from SEEPZ in the 1980s.
Regulated VSAT links became visible in 1994. Desai describes the steps taken to relax regulations on linking in 1991:
A joint EU-India group of scholars was formed on 23 November 2001 to further promote joint research and development. On 25 June 2002, India and the European Union agreed to bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology. India holds observer status at CERN, while a joint India-EU Software Education and Development Center will be located in Bangalore.

Contemporary situation

In the contemporary world economy, India is the largest exporter of IT. Exports dominate the Indian IT industry and constitute about 79% of the industry's total revenue. However, the domestic market is also significant, with robust revenue growth. The industry's share of total Indian exports increased from less than 4% in FY1998 to about 25% in FY2012. The technologically-inclined services sector in India accounts for 40% of the country's GDP and 30% of export earnings as of 2006, while employing only 25% of its workforce, according to Sharma. According to Gartner, the "Top Five Indian IT Services Providers" are Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies.

Major information technology hubs

Bangalore

is known as the Silicon Valley. Notable tech park are Electronics City Phase I & II, ITPL, Bagmane Tech Park, Embassy Golf Links, Manyata Tech Park, Global Village Tech Park, Embassy TechVillage.

Chandigarh

is also one of the growing international IT services and outsourcing exporters. The next upcoming tech park will be world trade center.

Kolkata

is the financial and business hub of Eastern India. The metro city has seen a significant rise in IT services. In August 2018, the West Bengal Government has announced that 200 acres of land in Rajarhat Newtown will be used for the development of Bengal Silicon Valley, similar to the California Silicon Valley in San Francisco, USA. The main intention of this project is to create a business-friendly environment for IT companies to set up their business in the city.

Chennai

, Chennai is India's Largest exporter of information technology and business process outsourcing services. Tidel Park in Chennai was billed as Asia's largest IT park when it was built. Notable tech parks are International Tech Park, DLF SEZ, Mahindra World City, SIPCOT IT Park, Olympia Tech Park and Ramanujan IT City. City has a expressway called as IT expressways and a preferred location for IT industries. Major software companies have their offices set up here, with some of them making Chennai their largest base.

Hyderabad

– known for the HITEC City or Cyberabad – is a major global information technology hub, and the largest bioinformatics hub in India. Hyderabad has emerged as the second largest city in the country for software exports pipping competitors Chennai and Pune. As of 2020, the IT exports from Hyderabad was ₹128,807 crore, the city houses 1500 IT and ITES companies that provide 582,126 employment. Notable tech and pharma parks are HITEC City, Genome Valley, and Hyderabad Pharma City

Pune

The Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjawadi is a ₹600-billion project by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. The IT Park encompasses an area of about and is home to over 800 IT companies of all sizes. Besides Hinjawadi, IT companies are also located at Magarpatta, Kharadi and several other parts of the city. As of 2017, the IT sector employs more than 300,000 people.