The Indian IT Industry has been predominantly a service Industry. However, a need was felt to move up the value chain through technology oriented products and services. Presently the global Software Product industry is estimated to be at USD 413 billion out of which India’s share is just USD 7.1 billion including USD 2.3 billion as exports. In addition, import of software products is pegged at USD 10 billion. Hence, India is a net importer of software products. Therefore it is prudent to develop a conducive software product ecosystem to transform a predominantly service oriented Indian IT/ITeS industry into a technology oriented products and service hub.
For the holistic growth of the IT industry, the Union Cabinet has approved the National Policy on Software Products – 2019 on February 28, 2019 that would synergise the efforts of the Government, Academia and Industry to create a robust Software Product ecosystem. It would be the germinating ground for a large number of software product startups, encourage R&D and innovation, open up multitude of opportunities, leverage access to capital and help build and improve the domestic demand so as to develop India as a Software Product Nation. Through this Policy intervention, the Software Product industry is estimated to grow at a CAGR of ~40% so as to reach USD 70-80 billion by 2025 and generate direct and indirect employment for 3.5 million people by 2025.