As per RBI & IMF data, India’s IT sector exports ($125B) exceeded the oil imports ($119B). Rise of India’s IT sector & how it employed 50 lakh+ people
In 1960, there were only two major IT companies in India - British tech giant ICL and IBM. IBM was the biggest player, responsible for installing 70% of computers in India.
The government wanted local players to share in the profits, but it is not possible as long as IBM existed. Further, there was also a national security threat.
In the same year, USfirm, Burroughs, joint ventured with TCS to export software and printers. Later, IBM quit Indiaand provided opportunities to local companies like Infosys
In 1988, NASSCOM was created to representsoftware companies & promote IT education. In 1991, it got an exemption for software exports.
The 2 major events that skyrocketed the demand for Indian engineers are the dot com boom & the Y2K problem.
It created a huge demand for Indian engineersin the US. Thus, leading to many overseas contracts for India.
Dot Com Boom
To solve the Y2K problem, 185 companies out of 500 companies outsourced their software requirements to India & exports touched $4B.
Y2K Problem
Indian engineersare cheaper & in high demand. Moving them to the US is also costlier, so companies set up their offices in India
In the 2000s, Indian tech companies launched their IPOs. In 2018, TCS became an first Indian company worth over $100 billion followed by Infosys.
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