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NEW DELHI: New deals are leading to a revival in India's software industry, and jobs are back in the country's IT sector with a 15 per cent upsurge in hiring, as a result of the improving economic climate.
Infosys Technologies, India's second largest provider of computer-services technology, is in talks to buy a US$200-million consulting business, in order to attract more clients.
Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Corporation have also expanded their client base over the last few months.
Market research company, IDC, estimates that India will spend US$22 billion on IT services this year, as it sees clients return.
Philip Bowyer, deputy general secretary, Uni Global Union said: "The international language in the world is still English, and India has this vast reserve of people who are educated in English.
"And that is a fantastic bonus for India compared to other countries in Asia or anywhere else in the world. So, quite naturally, people will gravitate back to this Indian market."
India's IT sector grew nearly 12 per cent in 2008, in spite of the global downturn. However, it is still a far cry from the 30-35 per cent growth that the industry has become used to.
And so, IT companies are slowly turning their attention back to India's domestic market.
"The problem is that we only look at the West and anything western - we think the earning is in dollars," said Kartik Shekar, secretary general, Union for IT Enabled Services
"But companies like IBM are smart players. They know that India has a population of one billion. And if they are here, they can tap that one billion. That is what they have done, while we have always been focusing on dollar earnings," he added.
The government has various projects lined up - worth US$10 billion - over the next five years. Companies such as Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services are vying for the new projects to issue smart cards, automate tax payments, and digitise government records.
The IT companies have realized that to stay competitive, they must reduce costs, improve their processes and manage information more efficiently.
And with the Indian government looking for public-private partnership to reform its administration, the IT companies have a great opportunity to shift from being just service providers to becoming business partners.
- CNA/sc
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