HYDERABAD: Recording a 9.32 percent of growth rate (YoY), IT exports from the state have increased from Rs 85,470 crore in 2016-2017 to Rs 93,442 crore in 2017-2018. Terming the departments’ functioning as “transparent and accountable”, information technology, electronics and communication (ITEC) minister KT Rama Rao presented the fourth annual report of the department here on Friday.
The IT sector directly added 43,417 jobs in the previous financial year and the total number of employees in the IT sector reached 4,75,308 in 2017-2018 from 4,31,891 in 2016-2017.
“Nobody asked us for transparency and accountability but we ensured that the department outgrew the national average (7 to 9 pc),” Rama Rao said and added that indirect jobs for over 7.5 lakh people were created through the sector at a cumulative annual growth (CAGR) of 15.6 per cent since the state’s formation.
The minister recalled an announcement he had made in 2014 when he said that IT exports would get doubled in five years. “We are on our way to reach the goals. The IT exports in 2014 were at Rs 52,258 crore, it has now come close to getting doubled,” he said. The department aims to create direct employment for 4 lakh people and achieve a target of Rs 1,20,000-crore exports at CAGR 16% by 2020.
‘LOOK EAST’
The concentration of IT companies largely in the west zone of Greater Hyderabad has led to an increase in the occupancy ratio and creation of new buildings in that region. As a result, the ITEC department will frame a policy to spur IT growth in the east zone now. “The IT sector in Hyderabad should not be restricted to Gachibowli and Kondapur. There is metro connectivity to Uppal, Through SRDP flyovers, the time taken to commute from Gachibowli to the airport and from Uppal to the airport will almost be the same. The Look East (LE) policy will answer it,” Rama Rao said, adding that it would also improve the overall quality of life.
Perform or perish, says IT minister KTR
KT Rama Rao has called for techies to ‘perform or perish’. This comes at a time when the IT welfare organisations have been creating a buzz to form a trade union and alter policies to de-incentivise certain provisions for the IT companies.
“Forming trade unions will not really help you (tech professionals).
This is an industry which has 33 million deployments across the world, the only difference is if you are gonna perform, you stay. Unless you perform, you perish,” said KT Rama Rao to Express.
“So, if you (tech professionals) want to grow or continue to maintain a growth momentum, it’s important for employees in IT industry to realise that one should re-skill, up-skill and reinvent oneself or else you are going to be in trouble,” Rama Rao said in answer when Express asked whether the IT department would work hand-in-hand with trade unions in altering IT policies. The industry has a high attrition rate, he further added.
Meanwhile, an IT welfare organisation termed the ministers’ remark as ‘absurd’.
“If the department is confident on attrition rate and that tech professionals are not re-skilling themselves, then we demand the government to come up with a white paper,” said Kiran Chandra, Founder member, Forum for IT professionals.