IT Exports from units based out of STPI are expected to grow at 10 per cent in FY-18 to cross ₹360,000 crores, Omkar Rai, Director General, STPI said.
In FY-19, exports are likely to grow at a modest 8-9 per cent, more in line with the guidance estimates set by Nasscom.
STPIs were set up in 1991 by the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT for boosting and promoting software exports from India.
Sources say that the ₹820,000 ($116 billion) Indian IT exports sector is seeing early signs of steady growth, on the back of spending by US financial institutions, even as curbs on H-1B visas get tighter.
According to Rai, it is just the H-1B visa norms that are getting tighter leading to uncertainties. However, outsourcing continues to grow.
A better performing US economy means companies there are willing to spend on technology. This, in turn, gives scope of growth to Indian IT exporters.
“Export growth from units based out of STPIs in FY19 should be closer to the Nasscom guidance range. For FY18, we are expecting an near 10 per cent growth in exports,” he told BusinessLine.
Last available numbers say exports from STPI units stood at ₹ 350,680 crore in FY-17.
“Growth numbers relating to exports from STPI-based units in the first three months of this fiscal are yet to be ascertained. The compilation process is on,” he added.
In fact, industry sources say scope for outsourcing has increased in main segments like BFSI, Retail and Manufacturing & Technology .
Promoting Entrepreneurship
Meanwhile, in a bid to promote start-ups and entrepreneurship, STPI will be setting up incubation centres and Centres of Excellence across the country.
These incubators will be plug-and-play facilities along with added amenities like conference rooms, ready internet connectivity and so on. These incubators will work on the concept of shared work-spaces.
The foundation stone laying for the Kolkata incubator was carried out by the Union Electronics and IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Saturday.
The Kolkata facility will be coming up at a cost of ₹ 100 crore over the next 18 months and have a space of nearly 200,000 sq feet.