IT industry will grow faster than last year\, says NASSCOM

• NASSCOM forecasts India’s IT sector to grow 7.7% this year.
  
• The industry body expects revenue to hit $191 billion driven by growth in digital technology.
  
• However, NASSCOM chairman Keshav Murugesh points out that challenges like protectionism and trade wars are creating global uncertainty.
  

India's IT sector has been struggling. Not as much as some of the other sectors of the economy — like telecom or aviation — but far from its former days of glory where double-digit growth was the norm.

However, things might pick up in 2020 as the 'Techade' kicks off. NASSCOM forecasts revenue for the India IT sector will grow by 7.7% to reach $191 billion. According to the industry body, the growth will be led by exports.

This is a marginal improvement over its prediction of 2018, when it said that the IT sector will only grow by 6.1%

"The IT-BPM industry continues to be a key catalyst for India’s overall growth," said NASSCOM chairman Keshav Murugesh at its annual leadership forum.

Economy is slower but IT spending hasn’t faltered
The global economy has been moving at a sluggish pace and things in India haven’t been much better. The local economy only grew at 4.8% and exports stood at $644 billion, according to NASSCOM’s report.

"Any industry that is growing at 7.7% in today's world shows strong growth," said NASSCOM president, Debjani Ghosh.

Digital technology will drive growth
Over the last decade, the IT industry has grown 18 times and added $68 billion to the GDP. As it transformed over the years, digital technology has taken the front seat.

According to Murugesh, last year’s performance showcased how Indian IT companies are now more focused on their digital portfolios as the banking and retail segments slowed down. In the coming year, digital’s share is expected to be at least one-fourth of overall revenue.

"We are hopeful that this trend will continue to drive the growth of the industry in the coming years, and evangelizing innovation in the domain," he said.

However, Murugesh also pointed out that the IT sector’s projected growth is not without its challenges. Increasing protectionism in the forms of data localisation and the dearth of talent in the industry are major risks that change the game plan.

Trade wars and policy changes add to uncertainty — a sentiment also expressed by Tata Consultancy CEO, Rajesh Gopinathan ahead of the union budget.