RBI's annual survey on computer software and information technology enabled services (ITES) exports
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, 19 October, 2024: Today, the Reserve Bank released the data1 related to the 2023-24 round of its annual survey on computer software and information technology enabled services (ITES) exports. The survey2 collects details on India’s exports of software services {computer services and ITES/business process outsourcing (BPO) services} as per type of activity, on-site/off-site nature of services, country of destination and modes of supply.
For 2023-24 round of the survey, 7,226 software export companies were contacted, of which 2,266 companies, including most of the large companies, responded. The participating companies together accounted for nearly 89 per cent of total software services exports3 (Table 1).
Highlights:
India’s exports of software services (excluding their sales through overseas commercial presence) increased by 2.8 per cent during 2023-24 to US$ 190.7 billion (Table 2).
Computer services accounted for over two-thirds of India’s total software services exports during the year; BPO services remained the dominant component of ITES exports (Tables 2 and 3).
Private limited companies recorded higher growth in export of software services when compared to that by public limited companies (Table 4).
The United States of America (USA) was the major software exports destination with 54 per cent share, followed by Europe (31 per cent share), where the United Kingdom (UK) was a major destination country (Table 5).
The US dollar remained the principal invoicing currency for India’s software exports with 72 per cent share, followed by the euro, the rupee and the pound sterling (Table 6).
Off-site services accounted for 90 per cent of the total export of software services; this share has risen from 80 per cent ten years ago (Table 7).
In terms of modes of delivery, cross-border supply of software services inched up to 83.5 per cent in 2023-24, whereas the share of overseas commercial presence mode of delivery declined to 7.0 per cent from 7.5 per cent in the previous year and 13.7 per cent in 2013-14 (Table 8).
Total exports of software services, including services delivered by foreign affiliates of Indian companies, increased to US$ 205.2 billion during 2023-24 (US$ 200.6 billion in the previous year); local software business by such affiliates amounted to US$ 14.5 billion during the year, with the USA and the UK remaining the major destinations.
| Survey Response and Final Estimates for 2023-24 – A Snapshot | ||||
| Item | Reported | Final Estimates | ||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | ₹ crore | US$ billion | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 1. Number of companies | 2,266 | 2,266 | 7,226 | 7,226 |
| 2. Total Exports of Software Services | 14,10,201 | 170.4 | 15,78,650 | 190.7 |
| 2.1 IT Services | 9,41,959 | 113.8 | 10,38,618 | 125.5 |
| 2.2 Software Product Development | 39,397 | 4.8 | 45,743 | 5.5 |
| 2.3 BPO Services | 3,57,981 | 43.2 | 4,14,492 | 50.1 |
| 2.4 Engineering Services | 70,864 | 8.6 | 79,797 | 9.6 |
| 3. Total Exports of Software Services including commercial presence | 15,30,247 | 184.9 | 16,98,696 | 205.2 |
| 3.1 Mode 1 (cross-border supply) | 12,67,000 | 153.0 | 14,18,267 | 171.3 |
| 3.2 Mode 2 (consumption abroad) | 2,496 | 0.3 | 2,795 | 0.3 |
| 3.3 Mode 3 (commercial presence) | 1,20,046 | 14.5 | 1,20,046 | 14.5 |
| 3.4 Mode 4 (presence of natural person) | 1,40,705 | 17.1 | 1,57,588 | 19.1 |
| Notes: 1. The sum of components may differ from total due to rounding off. 2. The amount in US $ terms is arrived at by using annual average rupee/ dollar exchange rate. 3. These are also applicable for the remaining tables. | ||||
| Table 2: Software Services Exports from India | ||||||
| Activity | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| A. Computer Services | 10,03,556 | 124.9 | 67.3 | 10,84,361 | 131.0 | 68.7 |
| of which: | ||||||
| i) IT Services | 9,62,229 | 119.8 | 64.6 | 10,38,618 | 125.5 | 65.8 |
| ii) Software Product Development | 41,327 | 5.1 | 2.7 | 45,743 | 5.5 | 2.9 |
| B. IT Enabled Services | 4,87,344 | 60.6 | 32.7 | 4,94,289 | 59.7 | 31.3 |
| of which: | ||||||
| i) BPO Services | 4,11,528 | 51.2 | 27.6 | 4,14,492 | 50.1 | 26.3 |
| ii) Engineering Services | 75,816 | 9.4 | 5.1 | 79,797 | 9.6 | 5.0 |
| Total Export of Software Services (A+B) | 14,90,900 | 185.5 | 100.0 | 15,78,650 | 190.7 | 100.0 |
| Table 3: Industry-wise Distribution of ITES/BPO Services Exports | ||||||
| Activity | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| A. BPO Services | 4,11,528 | 51.2 | 84.5 | 4,14,492 | 50.1 | 83.9 |
| (i) Business consulting services including public relations services | 20,773 | 2.6 | 4.3 | 27,173 | 3.3 | 5.5 |
| (ii) Finance and accounting auditing bookkeeping and tax consulting services | 55,637 | 6.9 | 11.4 | 60,415 | 7.3 | 12.2 |
| (iii) HR administration | 3,049 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 3,627 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| (iv) Supply chain and other management services/ logistics | 5,612 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 6,242 | 0.8 | 1.3 |
| (v) Medical transcription and document management | 5,969 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 6,722 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| (vi) Content development and management and publishing | 2,936 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 3,248 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
| (v) Other BPO services | 3,17,552 | 39.5 | 65.2 | 3,07,065 | 37.1 | 62.1 |
| B. Engineering Services | 75,816 | 9.4 | 15.5 | 79,797 | 9.6 | 16.1 |
| (i) Embedded solutions | 11,712 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 15,871 | 1.9 | 3.2 |
| (ii) Product design engineering (mechanical electronics excluding software) | 14,482 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 13,422 | 1.6 | 2.7 |
| (iii) Industrial automation and enterprise asset management | 1,856 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2,046 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| (iv) Other engineering services | 47,766 | 5.9 | 9.7 | 48,458 | 5.9 | 9.9 |
| Total (A+B) | 4,87,344 | 60.6 | 100.0 | 4,94,289 | 59.7 | 100.0 |
| Table 4: Organisation-wise Distribution of Software Services Exports | ||||||
| Types of Organisations | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Private Limited Company | 8,36,413 | 104.1 | 56.1 | 9,12,658 | 110.3 | 57.8 |
| Public Limited Company | 6,18,497 | 77.0 | 41.5 | 6,31,030 | 76.2 | 40.0 |
| Others# | 35,990 | 4.4 | 2.4 | 34,962 | 4.2 | 2.2 |
| Total | 14,90,900 | 185.5 | 100.0 | 15,78,650 | 190.7 | 100.0 |
| # Others include mostly LLPs/proprietor firms. | ||||||
| Table 5: Software Services Exports – Major Destination | ||||||
| Region | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| United States of America | 8,15,034 | 101.4 | 54.7 | 8,54,604 | 103.2 | 54.1 |
| Canada | 20,066 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 21,338 | 2.6 | 1.4 |
| Europe | 4,58,545 | 57.1 | 30.8 | 4,87,209 | 58.8 | 30.8 |
| of which, | ||||||
| United Kingdom | 2,12,801 | 26.5 | 14.3 | 2,22,116 | 26.8 | 14.1 |
| Asia | 97,037 | 12.0 | 6.5 | 1,05,747 | 12.8 | 6.7 |
| of which, | ||||||
| East Asia | 82,155 | 10.2 | 5.5 | 82,362 | 9.9 | 5.2 |
| West Asia | 12,373 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 19,527 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
| South Asia | 2,509 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3,858 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| Australia & New Zealand | 38,212 | 4.8 | 2.6 | 37,710 | 4.6 | 2.4 |
| Other countries | 62,006 | 7.7 | 4.1 | 72,042 | 8.7 | 4.6 |
| Total | 14,90,900 | 185.5 | 100.0 | 15,78,650 | 190.7 | 100.0 |
| Table 6: Software Services Exports - Currency Composition of Invoice | ||||||
| Currency | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| USD | 10,79,499 | 134.3 | 72.4 | 11,35,061 | 137.1 | 71.9 |
| EUR | 1,33,681 | 16.6 | 9.0 | 1,47,006 | 17.8 | 9.3 |
| INR | 1,05,462 | 13.1 | 7.1 | 1,12,364 | 13.6 | 7.1 |
| GBP | 87,685 | 10.9 | 5.9 | 97,869 | 11.8 | 6.2 |
| AUD | 31,063 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 30,844 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
| Other Currencies | 53,510 | 6.7 | 3.5 | 55,506 | 6.7 | 3.5 |
| Total | 14,90,900 | 185.5 | 100.0 | 15,78,650 | 190.7 | 100.0 |
| Table 7: Software Services Exports – Type of Services | ||||||
| Type of Services | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| On-site Services | 1,47,007 | 18.3 | 9.9 | 1,57,588 | 19.1 | 10.0 |
| Off-site Services | 13,43,893 | 167.2 | 90.1 | 14,21,062 | 171.6 | 90.0 |
| Total | 14,90,900 | 185.5 | 100.0 | 15,78,650 | 190.7 | 100.0 |
| Table 8: Mode-wise Exports of Software Services | ||||||
| Type of Mode | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | ||||
| ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | ₹ crore | US$ billion | Share (%) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Mode 1 (cross-border supply) | 13,42,333 | 167.0 | 83.3 | 14,18,267 | 171.3 | 83.5 |
| Mode 2 (consumption abroad) | 1,560 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 2,795 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Mode 3 (commercial presence) | 1,21,183 | 15.1 | 7.5 | 1,20,046 | 14.5 | 7.0 |
| Mode 4 (presence of natural person) | 1,47,007 | 18.3 | 9.1 | 1,57,588 | 19.1 | 9.3 |
| Total | 16,12,083 | 200.6 | 100.0 | 16,98,696 | 205.2 | 100.0 |
| Table 9: Software Business by Foreign Affiliates of Indian Companies during 2023-24 ─ Activity Distribution | |||
| (Amount in ₹ crore) | |||
| Activity | Locally* | To India | Other Countries |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| IT Services | 40,398 | 13,985 | 11,081 |
| Software Product Development | 332 | 18 | 91 |
| BPO Services | 6,090 | 1,425 | 2,973 |
| Engineering Services | 4,472 | 122 | 1,067 |
| Other Services | 68,754 | 37,375 | 17,746 |
| Total (₹ crore) | 1,20,046 | 52,925 | 32,958 |
| Total (US$ billion) | 14.5 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
| *Software business by foreign affiliates of Indian companies “locally” indicates Mode-3 (commercial presence). | |||
| Table 10: Software Business by Foreign Affiliates of Indian Companies during 2023-24 ─ Country Distribution | ||||
| (Amount in ₹ crore) | ||||
| Country | Share in Total Software business by foreign affiliates (%) | Software business by foreign affiliates | ||
| Locally | To India | Other Countries | ||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| United States of America | 36.6 | 46,355 | 16,174 | 12,770 |
| United Kingdom | 24.7 | 15,788 | 32,914 | 2,152 |
| Germany | 7.0 | 12,810 | 454 | 1,081 |
| Canada | 7.2 | 11,189 | 144 | 3,501 |
| Singapore | 4.0 | 6,201 | 715 | 1,365 |
| Netherlands | 5.2 | 8,571 | 208 | 1,946 |
| Other Countries | 15.3 | 19,132 | 2,316 | 10,143 |
| Total (₹ crore) | 100.0 | 1,20,046 | 52,925 | 32,958 |
| Total (US$ billion) | - | 14.5 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
