How Is the $194 billion Indian IT industry Shaping the Future? Valuable Insights from Market Surveys

As a swiftly emerging economic powerhouse, India captivates the world's attention with its impressive growth trajectory. At the heart of this flourishing economy lies the IT industry, which not only fuels India's progress but also creates countless job opportunities. So, let’s have a deeper look into Indian IT prospects for growth in the coming years.

What Is The Current State of the Indian IT Industry?

The 21st century is earmarked as IT-driven, and India is now at the forefront of this tendency. The IT industry in India covers IT services, e-commerce, healthcare, education, fintech, software/hardware products, and many more. With that, IT not only contributes to the economic growth of India but also makes governance more approachable. Hence, easier and cheaper access to government services. This, in turn, improves the whole socio-economic status of Indians. Accounting for 7.4% of the GDP (compound annual growth rate) in 2022, IT has played a significant role in India's socioeconomic growth. Speaking about the Indian IT position globally, the country has made up more than 19% of the global IT spending in the previous year. It’s worth emphasizing that India is famous for its high-quality IT outsourcing services that many big companies in Europe and North America are intensively using. So, no wonder, IT services accounted for more than 50% of the export revenue provided by the IT industry. India is now even called an IT outsourcing hub with lots of experienced professionals. What’s the secret of success?

The Country with the Quickest Rate of Digital Adoption

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in India (and this trend is expected to continue in the next 5+ years). Actually, India is now viewed as one of the largest Internet user bases and the cheapest Internet rates, with 76% of citizens having access to the internet. That’s largely achieved owing to the “Digital India Programme” and initiatives like “Digital India” and “Make in India,” which enhance digital infrastructure and digital access. So, it’s not surprising that India is currently one of the top countries with the quickest rate of digital adoption. With that, the government's focus on building a robust digital infrastructure and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship is expected to provide further impetus to the growth of the IT industry in India. As per a report by NASSCOM, the Indian IT industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.7% to reach $350 billion by 2025. This growth is driven by the increased adoption of digital technologies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT). Another report performed by McKinsey & Company supports this point of view and reveals pretty close numbers – it says that the Indian IT industry is projected to touch the $300-$350 billion revenue mark within the next five years, growing at a 10% rate per year. This will mean that the $194 billion Indian IT industry will be developing at a much faster pace than the 7.5% growth rate registered during the last five years.

Source India: IT-BPM industry share in GDP 2022 | Statista

The “Challenge.” Lack of Professionals

According to the same report by McKinsey, the Indian IT industry is expected to face challenges in terms of talent acquisition and retention. The demand for digital talent in India is expected to outstrip supply by 50-60% in the next five years. And to address this challenge, the IT industry is expected to focus on upskilling and reskilling its existing workforce, as well as engage new talent. As against the earlier belief that IT would see massive job destruction with the release of AI-based chatbots, the last year demonstrated that the Indian IT industry would stay extremely labor-creating and absorb more and more specialists into its employment. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that nowadays, 80% of Indian IT employees feel safe about their role in India. This optimism can also be attributed to the following facts:

• The surging demand for skilled professionals is a direct result of the growing recognition of the paramount importance of technology in the modern business landscape.
• Corporations are progressively embracing long-term trends that prioritize strategic thinking and digital transformation as critical success factors.
• The realm of Indian IT offers an incredibly diverse range of opportunities for those who seek to explore it.
• With companies increasingly relying on technology to enhance their operations, demand for skilled professionals in all four IT pillars, including IT infrastructure, software development, cybersecurity, and data infrastructure, continues to soar.

Job Opportunities in Indian IT Industry

The Indian IT sector is one of the most successful sectors that have seen steady growth in recent years. It fared well during the pandemic in 2020–2021 years and the global crisis in 2022 as it was immune to cutbacks, spending, and adjournment of important investments. In the last year, Indian IT exports reached $227 billion (as per the National Association of Software and Services Companies). What is important is that although initially, the IT industry was concentrated mostly around Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai, the focus has recently shifted to other cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune. And since companies began to switch their attention to the so-called “Tier 2 and Tier 3” cities, job variety expanded too. IT actively penetrated telecom, real estate, KPOs, manufacturing, and other sectors. Overall, the IT industry created 873,000 jobs from 2015 to 2021, according to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY). And in the year 2019, employment in the IT industry reached 4,140,000 jobs directly and 12,000,000 jobs indirectly (reported by NASSCOM).

Top Technologies That Are Expected to Prevail

When it comes to the technologies that are going to be dominant in India in the nearest future, they are the following:

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has been rapidly growing in India and the whole world and it’s expected to continue to expand in the nearest future. There are tons of AI-based apps in various industries, such as healthcare, finance, and e-commerce. The Indian government has also launched an AI portal to promote AI innovation and research in the country.
2. Cloud computing. Cloud computing has been adopted widely in India, especially in the IT industry, and it’s expected to continue to grow. The adoption of cloud services has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the remote format of work has become essential for many organizations.
3. Internet of Things (IoT). IoT has been gaining traction in India, particularly in the manufacturing and agriculture sectors. It’s projected to grow in the foreseeable future as the Indian government has launched the National IoT Policy to promote the adoption of IoT.
4. Blockchain. Blockchain is a relatively new technology in India, but it has been gaining amazing attention in recent years. It’s used in finance, healthcare, and supply chain management. The Indian government has also launched a blockchain platform to enhance blockchain adoption and research in the country.
5. Cybersecurity. With the increasing adoption of the aforementioned technologies, cybersecurity has become a major concern for many companies in India. And since organizations have become more aware of the importance of cybersecurity, they are going to invest heavily in cybersecurity.

Is There a Place for Java?

While we know Java mostly as a top programming language in India that is extensively utilized by numerous companies, Java’s opportunities don’t end there. Java can be used for developing apps related to AI, IoT, blockchain, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and other emerging technologies that all are the rage right now.

• Java has many libraries and frameworks that make it easier to develop AI applications. Some popular AI frameworks in Java include Deeplearning4j, Mahout, and Weka. These frameworks provide tools for tasks such as data analysis, machine learning, and natural language processing.
• Java is also commonly used in IoT applications due to its portability and ability to run on various devices. It can be used to develop code for sensors, actuators, and other devices that form the Internet of Things.
• Speaking about blockchain applications, Java can be used to write smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts that automate transactions on the blockchain.
• Cloud computing is another area where Java is widely used. Java applications can be deployed on cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform. Java also has libraries and frameworks that make it easier to create cloud apps like Spring Cloud and Netflix OSS.
• Finally, Java is commonly used in cybersecurity owing to its ability to run securely in a variety of environments. For instance, Java has built-in security features, such as class loaders, which help prevent unauthorized access to resources.

Conclusion

Overall, the IT industry in India is poised to maintain its upward growth trajectory, driven by the increasing adoption of government initiatives and the development of cutting-edge technologies. And since Indian IT is predicted to grow at an incredible rate, there will appear tons of new opportunities both for IT beginners and experts. Where and how to start? We bet Java is a winning choice for those who aspire to thrive in the IT industry and remain in high demand for years to come. So, take the leap and begin your journey with CodeGym to master Java!