Source: Reuters
Financials on the mend and signs the world economy is not falling off the cliff are good news for India's high profile IT outsourcing industry but that's still not enough for the sector to regain its past glory.
Following are key facts on India's software services industry:
Indian software writing skills won recognition in the late 1990s and helped companies overcome the "Y2K" problem.
Cheaper salaries, a fifth of those paid to US and European IT workers, and a large pool of English-speaking graduates have helped outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro ride an outsourcing boom.
The export-driven companies offer services ranging from managing complex computer networks and call centres to software coding to maintaining technology operations.
General Electric, BT Group Plc, Citigroup, General Motors, and Qantas Airways are among their clients.
The sector was hit by a large accounting fraud at Satyam Computer, once ranked as the fourth-largest IT firm.
Last month, mid-sized outsourcer Tech Mahindra won an auction for a controlling stake in Satyam.
Global IT firms such as IBM, Accenture, and Microsoft have large service centres employing thousands of workers to serve global customers and bid for deals also in the local market.
IBM has more than 70,000 staff in India.
India's exports of software and services in the year ended March 31, 2009 is estimated to have grown 16-17 percent to about $47 billion, according to the lobby group National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM).
Total revenue of the software and back-office outsourcing sector, including sales from the domestic market, is estimated to have risen to $60 billion in the financial year 2008/09.
The sector, which accounts for five per cent of the country's gross domestic product, is projected to earn $175 billion in exports by 2020, according to study by NASSCOM and McKinsey.
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