IT & BPM

Indian IT's core competencies and strengths have attracted significant investment from major countries and companies.

• The computer software and hardware sector in India attracted cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows worth US$ 81.31 billion between April 2000-December 2021. The sector ranked 2nd in FDI inflows as per the data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Computer software and hardware make up 14.19% of the cumulative FDI inflows.
• In 2021, PE investments in the IT sector stood at US$ 23.4 billion.
• India's IT startup ecosystem has received record investments of nearly US$ 36 billion in privately held companies in 2021, up from US$ 11 billion in 2020.
• In March 2022, Licious, India's largest tech-first, fresh animal protein brand, raised US$ 150 million in a Series F2 funding round.
• In March 2022, Byju's raised US$ 800 million in funding as part of a pre-IPO round, which values the Bengaluru-based company at about US$ 22 billion.

Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government to promote IT and ITeS sector in India are as follows:

• In Union Budget 2022-23, the allocation for IT and telecom sector stood at Rs. 88,567.57 crore (US$ 11.58 billion).
• The government introduced the STP Scheme, which is a 100% export-oriented scheme for the development and export of computer software, including export of professional services using communication links or physical media.
• In November 2021, the government launched the Internet Exchange in Uttarakhand to enhance the quality of internet services in the state.
• The Karnataka government has signed three MoUs worth US$ 13.4 million (Rs. 100.52 crore) to help the state's emerging technology sector.
• In August 2021, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced that the IT export target is set at US$ 400 billion for March 2022. In addition, the central government plans to focus on areas, such as cybersecurity, hyper-scale computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain.
• In September 2021, the Indian government announced a plan to build a cyber-lab for the 'Online Capacity Building Programme on Crime Investigation, Cyber Law and Digital Forensics' to strengthen cyber security capabilities.
• In September 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) organised a workshop under the theme of 'Connecting all Indians', to promote public and private stakeholders' interest in the country and expand internet access to remote areas.
• In September 2021, the Indian government launched the Meghalaya Enterprise Architecture Project (MeghEA), to boost service delivery and governance in the state by leveraging digital technologies, to make Meghalaya a high-income state by 2030.
• In September 2021, the Indian government launched Phase II of Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme to encourage research in 42 emerging technologies in Information Technology (IT), Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES).
• In September 2021, the Indian government inaugurated five National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT) Centres, in three North Eastern states to boost availability of training centres and employment opportunities.
• On July 2, 2021, the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises launched six technology innovation platforms to develop technologies for globally competitive manufacturing in India. The six technology platforms have been developed by IIT Madras, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT), Automotive Research Association of India(ARAI), BHEL and HMT in association with IISc Banglore.
• Department of Telecom, Government of India and Ministry of Communications, Government of Japan signed a MoU to enhance cooperation in areas of 5G technologies, telecom security and submarine optical fibre cable system.