K'taka eyeing for Rs 50,000 cr software exports in 2006-07

Bangalore, May 3 (UNI) Karnataka is targetting to achieve software exports of over Rs 50,000 crore during 2006-07, maintaining more than the national growth, State Principal Secretary for IT and BT M K Shankaralinge Gowda said today.

Addressing newspersons on the performance of the State in the IT arena during 2005-06, which saw Karnataka's IT exports crossing Rs 40,000 crore, including Rs 37,600 crore of software exports, he said the indications provided by IT majors in the State hinted that the State was on course for a little over ten billion dollar worth of exports this fiscal.

He said that as against the national growth of 30 per cent, Karnataka had recorded a 36 per cent growth in software exports last fiscal and moved slightly ahead of the normal contribution of one third of the national software exports. The country's software exports last year amounted to Rs 100,809 crore.

Karnataka's exports rose by Rs 10,000 crore, compared to Rs 27,000 crore recorded the previous year, Software Technology Parks of India-Bangalore Director B V Naidu said.

He said Bangalore continued to be the major destination for IT, with as many as 201 companies starting operations last year, including 124 foreign firms. The new investment added during the year was Rs 2,761 crore, of which Rs 1,882 crore came from foreign companies and Rs 255 crore from Small and Medium Enterprises.

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