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TNN, Apr 23, 2011, 10.00am IST
The Indian IT industry has been witnessing phenomenal growth and setting global benchmarks over the past ten years. It has created new milestones in terms of both revenue growth and employment generation. Radhika Ramaswamy analyses the demand and supply of skilled professionals in the industry
The 1990s heralded the golden era of Information Technology in the country. It transformed the economic landscape of a nation that was under the clutches of the government till 1994.
The Indian IT industry has been witnessing phenomenal growth and setting global benchmarks over the past ten years.
Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation became the norm, even as the Indian economy made giant strides in IT and ITes (IT enabled services). Today, with a total revenue of US$70 billion, the Indian IT industry is touted as one of the most robust industries world-wide.
A study by National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom)-Deloitte shows that the contribution of the IT/ITes industry to the country's GDP has gone up to a share of 5% in 2007 from a meagre 1.2% in 1998. Software exports from India have increased and account for about 60% of India's total software revenue.
It is estimated that IT exports from India will touch around US$175 billion and the total revenue of the sector will be US$225 billion in 2020. Besides being a key driver of global economic growth, the industry has been continuously providing massive employment opportunities to millions of people across the country.
The latest Ma Foi Randtad Employment Trends survey reveals that the sector is expected to add a total of 1,83,000 jobs and will post a growth rate of 9.5%.
In the South
Interestingly, South India is the largest IT/ITes cluster in the country and contributes to 60% of the total revenue. The software development activity is largely restricted to few South Indian cities such as Bangalore (also known as the Silicon Valley of India) that has over 5,000 companies, Hyderabad that accounts for over 2,000 companies, and Chennai that hosts over 2,500 companies.
Today, the industry employs over 2.54 million people, of which 1.5 million employees are from the South. As K Purusothaman, Regional Director, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, NASSCOM, points out, "Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh contribute to over 40% engineers.
This is primarily because these States play host to over 1,500 engineering colleges. This year, over 2.4 lakh students were recruited by the IT industry across the country, as opposed to 1.5 lakh students recruited last year."
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For IT hiring, 2011 to be landmark year after 2007
Mini Joseph Tejaswi , TNN | Apr 25, 2011, 06.02am IST
BANGALORE: The calendar 2011 is expected to be a landmark year for tech hiring and job movements after 2007 as market visibility improves, global customers step up spending and pipelines remain packed. External head hunters are optimistic of a very bullish trend with hiring requirements going up substantially this year by 60% to 70%, compared to last year's 20% jump over the previous year.
The industry will see around 2 lakh fresh engineering graduates entering the job market this year while another 3 lakh people will move and change jobs within the industry. Also, there will be another over a lakh graduates (BSc computer science, electronics, and bachelor of computer applications) coming to the market from colleges across the country.
Also, some 50,000 mid-to-senior people are expected to join the IT industry from traditional verticals like manufacturing, auto, oil, telecom and logistics as the sector is suffering from an acute shortage of senior talent, say industry observers.
The IT/ITES industry employs around 15 lakh people and at least 25% of it that population will be part of a job churn/change this year. "Many people stayed put in organizations for the last three years due to sheer want of options outside. All in this category are exploring opportunities outside and moving," said B S Murthy, CEO, LeadershipCapital, an IT hiring firm.
So calendar 2011 will witness a net hiring of around 4 lakh people (campus and lateral), against 2 lakh in 2010. Calendar 2009 was the worst year, with less than 1 lakh people getting jobs, with companies going back on their campus commitments and widespread lay-offs. Year 2008 saw a hiring of 2.5 lakh while calendar 2007 was a bumper year that threw up 5 lakh jobs in the market.
"The mood today is very optimistic. Therefore, clearly there is an upsurge in hiring. The intake of IT and retail sector is surely going to more than double this year," says K Jayshankar, MD, Empowered Learning Systems. Fresh hiring will be led by domestic players like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro. Freshers will account for 70% to 80% of their hiring this year while MNCs like IBM, Accenture, HP and Capmini will drive the lateral hiring sector each with an annual mandate of 15,000 to 20,000 people.
According to Nirupama V G, MD, AdAstra Consultants: "The quantum of people requirement from companies has rapidly increased in the last a quarter or so. To meet this requirement, some external hirers were forced to increase the number of their support staff, after maintaining a thin staffline for last three years."
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(if you having troubles, try posting your comment on this page or send an email to chronicle @ itbhuglobal.org)Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi 221005, UP