The beleaguered Indian IT industry that is facing uncertainty from its largest market – the US – has found an ally in Union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. On Tuesday, Lalu’s over Rs 2,000-crore technology upgradation plan that he revealed in his Rail Budget has opened up a big opportunity for the Indian IT players to reap in some moolah from one of the world’s largest employers.

From Tata Consultancy Services to Infosys Technologies to Satyam Computers, all are eyeing a big slice of the Railways’ IT pie.

“We have analysed the value of the four technology initiatives at Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, which include asset management services, ERP implementation, RFID and commercial portals. We have participated in the request for proposals (RFPs) and are bidding for end-to-end solutions with alliance partners. We guesstimate 30-40% of the revenues may accrue to us,” Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer’s India-Head Ranjan Tayal told FE.

He said the deals, depending on the initiatives, would be spread over 5-10 years. “There are certain initiatives that are just one-time deals, while there are others that are spread over 10 years that include support and maintenance,” Tayal said adding, the execution of some of the initiatives would begin in the next financial year.

Infosys that has set up a dedicated India business unit is also looking at making the most of the opportunity.

“The gamut of opportunities within IT could cover digitization, freight management, ticket processing over the mobile/alternative delivery systems, optimizing and upgrading IT-infrastructure. This is a great opportunity for Indian IT players like Infosys and we will be actively participating in some of these opportunities,” Infosys chief financial officer V Balakrishnan said. TCS that already has a partnership with the government in providing software services to the Railways is also hoping to bank in on the new initiatives. “We are working for quite sometime in bringing about a holistic IT transformation in the railway. We are hoping to become a part of this venture,” TCS India head Venkat Ramani said.