Contrary to public perception that Telangana agitation has dented the image of Hyderabad as a leading Information Technology destination, the software industry has posted a robust performance in 2010 and retained fourth position in the country.
The IT companies have been on an expansion mode and software exports growing steadily, the officials said. The space taken on lease by software companies in IT parks has increased by 48 per cent in 2010. And, 2010-11 is likely to be one of the best years for Hyderabad's software sector.
"The talk of Telangana has not affected the growth of IT industry. In January last year, there was an agitation. That was the time when global players like Facebook, JP Morgan, United Health Group came to Hyderabad. It was like a shot in the arm for us,'' the state IT Secretary K Ratnaprabha said.
The software industry has absorbed an additional 20,000 employees last year, taking the total number to 2.85 lakh.
“In 2008-09, the software exports stood at Rs 32,509 crore. It went up to Rs 33,482 crores the following year. This year, we are expecting to cross 35,000 crores,” the official said.
Several existing companies including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Virtusa, are on expansion mode.
“AP has not lost its charm. People know what it offers. Honeywell has its base in Bangalore but when they decided to expand, they came to Hyderabad and they are going to announce their R & D center here,” Ratnaprabha said.
The tier II Centers are also growing. The coastal city of Visakhapatnam accounted for software exports worth Rs 786 crores, up from Rs 500 crores last year. Similarly, an IT Special Economic Zone has been established at Vijaywada.
