IT sector to grow rapidly; but boom days are past: Nasscom
09 Dec 2009
Rebounding faster from the economic downturn than some manufacturing industries, India's information technology sector is likely to witness double-digit growth during the next financial year 2010-11, according to the industry body National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nassccom).
However, the industry is unlikely to attain the huge growth rate it had recorded till 2007, Nasscom president Som Mittal told newspersons on Tuesday at the 'Nasscom diversity and inclusivity summit 2009' in Bangalore.
"The country is witnessing changes in a positive direction, and despite having witnessed a flat growth during the first quarter of this fiscal, Q2 has seen a 4-7 per cent growth for most IT companies," Mittal said.
He added that the sector was helped by the fact that banking and financial services, a sector that was hit hard globally, is doing ''remarkably well'' in India. It contributes 40 per cent of the business and has more potential for growth. Healthcare, utilities and climate change are the other 'verticals' that IT companies are betting on.
In June, the industry body had downsized the growth figure to 4-7 per cent from the earlier projection of 15-18 per cent as customers cut down on their IT spending amid the global downturn.
The growth rate of around 30 per cent achieved for an entire decade is very hard to maintain, said Mittal, but added that in the next decade it will grow at a compounded annual rate of about 14 per cent – a jump from the $50 billion in 2008 to around $225 billion.
