99
software companies in India, 167 boast ISO 9000 quality certifications. Quality
then, differentiates us from some of our other competitors overseas. A study
conducted and funded by the World Bank has confirmed that Indian vendors are
the number one choice of a multitude of companies when it comes to
outsourcing software development.
The success and failure of any industry can be gauged by three feel-good
factors—the fortunes of that industry on the stock markets,
the attitude of the Government regarding the industry,
and the impressions overseas customers carry about its prowess.
The Indian software industry measures up honorably on each
of these counts.
The stock markets were the first to applaud the on-going software and dot com
revolution, backing aggressively the newborn “high potential” listings. In January
1999,
the market capitalization of the Indian software industry was $4 billion,
which went up to almost $96 billion in February. Currently, the figure stands at
$61 billion, which though a bit down, is certainly not out. It is temporary and will
enable us to learn from the mistakes of Western companies in the dot com domain.
In the last one year, two infotech companies have made it to the NASDAQ—Infosys
and Satyam Infoway. Over the next few years, 20 more companies will list on the
New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ and the London Stock Exchange, truly
providing a global outlook to our endeavors.
The second success pointer is the Government’s positive stand vis-à-vis the software
industry. The Government’s ready acceptance of the demands of the software sector, its
efforts to come out with an extremely IT-friendly Budget, its quick
passage of the IT Bill (covering cyber laws) and its open-mindedness
about issues such as improvement in IT infrastructure, are all signs of
the soft spot the powers-that-be have for this industry.
On the policy side, while major steps have already been initiated,
we still need to make sure our cyber laws are implemented in both letter and spirit.
The Government has in fact gone all out to create an environment conducive to
the growth of both the export and domestic software markets. In reducing duty on
software to zero percent, rationalizing other taxation and ESOP-related laws and
continuing the tax holiday, the Government has shown its positive intent regarding
the software sector.
Let us use the gains made by
the software industry to spur 100
percent literacy, more employment,
entrepreneurship and growth
of the Indian economy
