STPI Units Achieve Over Rs 9 Lakh Crores in IT Exports

The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) marked its 33rd Foundation Day last week, heralding over three decades of groundbreaking contributions to India’s technology landscape. The celebration, themed “Positioning Bharat as a Tech Product Nation,” convened at the Ashok Hotel in New Delhi, attracting luminaries from the government and technology industry.

Gracing the event were notable figures including Secretary of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Shri. S. Krishnan, and STPI’s Director General, Shri. Arvind Kumar, alongside industry stalwarts like Mr. Vishal Dhupar, MD of NVIDIA and Mr. Tejas Goenka, MD of Tally Solutions.

In a bid to fortify the tech startup ecosystem, STPI introduced the networking platform “SayujNet” and the STPI Workspace portal “STPI-Workspace.” Additionally, it unveiled the “Ananta” initiative, aiming to spearhead India’s sovereign cloud journey.

Two crucial Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were inked during the event, focusing on nurturing a robust startup ecosystem. The first MoU, between Sabudh Foundation and STPI, targets DeepTech skill development, while the second, with DBS Bank India Pvt Ltd, aims at bolstering the tech startup landscape.

The highlight of the ceremony was the unveiling of the “DeepTech Knowledge Report” by Mr. Krishnan, delineating India’s prowess in cutting-edge technologies and its potential to emerge as a software product nation.

Expressing his thoughts, Mr. Krishnan emphasised STPI‘s pivotal role in fostering digital innovation across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, facilitating India’s evolution as a digital product nation. He said, “Today, STPI has a greater presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. What we want to achieve is to help in aggregating talent and aggregating opportunity, through the possibilities of networking and digital connectivity. STPI as an organization is playing a pivotal role in engendering such an environment and putting together such an ecosystem, which is helping India to emerge as a product nation, both in software, software embedded products, and to some extent even in hardware. I would like to congratulate STPI for their contribution in making India truly a digital product nation. We look towards them in the coming decade to continue their good work, so that India truly achieves its growth ambitions.”

In his address, Mr. Arvind Kumar lauded STPI’s journey, spanning from 3 centers to 65 nationwide, and outlined its commitment to nurturing entrepreneurship and advancing IT/ITES industries. He announced that the Indian IT industry has achieved a remarkable milestone, with exports from STPI registered units contributing a staggering Rs 9.19 lakh crore mark in the 2024 financial year. Reflecting on STPI’s humble beginnings, Mr Kumar noted that in its first year of establishment in 1991, the registered units reported exports of merely Rs 17 crore. The meteoric rise to over Rs 9 lakh crore in just over three decades is a testament to the unwavering efforts of STPI and the resilience of the Indian IT sector.

He also added that STPI’s journey has been intrinsically linked to the growth of the technology ecosystem in the country. With 65 centres across India, including 57 in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the organisation has played a pivotal role in driving employment, revenue generation, and the migration of business process outsourcing (BPO) operations to smaller cities. These statistics highlight the exponential growth and global dominance of the country’s tech prowess. With 24 entrepreneurship centres nurturing over 1,000 startups across various domains, STPI continues to foster innovation and provide a nurturing environment for budding tech entrepreneurs.

The event also featured expert panel discussions on leveraging IT/ITES for AI and Deep Tech, and accelerating the development of electronic products in India.