A delegation of IT industry body Nasscom, which included its president Som Mittal and past president Kiran Karnik met communications and IT minister A Raja on Tuesday to apprise him of the issues at hand. Extension of the STPI scheme by another five years figured as the main discussion point, this being the major demand of the industry.
It is the trade body?s first official interaction with Raja after he took charge of the ministry. ?The agenda of the meeting was to apprise the minister of the opportunities and the challenges before the industry and how we and his ministry can partner to develop a better ecosystem,? Mittal told FE.
While the downturn is forcing companies to cut IT spending, there is a rising danger of key markets like the US turning protectionist. Moreover STPI, which is a 10-year tax holiday for the industry, is set to end in 2010. ?It was Raja, who had brought about the extension of STPI for one more year and we are hopeful that the government will look into the industry?s demand,? he said.
While Nasscom has asked for a five-year extension of the STPI, Raja was earlier quoted as saying that he will push for a three-year extension of the tax-holiday. ?It will be a very positive message to the world as well to our member companies in these times of the downturn. This gesture will go a long way towards the growth of the industry,? he added.
?We also presented before the minister Nasscom?s vision 20:20, which we recently developed in partnership with McKinsey & Company along with talking about how the industry can partner the government in its various e-governance initiatives,? said Mittal. In its vision for 2020, Nasscom estimated the size of the export industry to grow to $175 billion while the Indian domestic industry is projected to record a four-fold increase in revenues to touch $50 billion.
The industry?s other demands include clarification of the SEZ policy, which saw a mention in the interim Budget and removal of multiplicity of tax on packaged software. On the rising protectionism sentiment in the US, Mittal said the team discussed with the minister how the issue could hurt the Indian IT industry. ?There are several initiatives going on to tackle the issue at different levels,? he said.
