Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of the 2018-19 round of its annual survey on exports of computer software and information technology enabled services (ITES). The survey provides information on various characteristics (e.g., type of activity; on-site/off-site nature of services; country of destination; and modes of supply) of India’s exports of software and ITES. The latest round of the survey uses an activity classification that is in concordance with the classification adopted for the goods and services tax (GST) in the survey schedule (Annex). For the 2018-19 round of the survey, 8,084 IT companies were approached of which, 1,818 companies, including the twenty largest companies, responded. The responding companies together accounted for 82 per cent of the total software services exports2 of the companies covered (Table 1). Highlights:
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India’s export of computer and ITES services (excluding overseas commercial presence) increased by 8.8 per cent during 2018-19 (Table 1).
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Computer services remained the dominant component of India’s software services exports, accounting for over two third of total software services; the share of ITES exports increased marginally in 2018-19 (Table 2 and 3).
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Private limited companies accounted for over half of total software services exports (Table 4).
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USA and Canada remained the top destinations for software exports, followed by Europe in which UK was the top destination (Table 5).
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The US Dollar remained the major invoicing currency for software exports, followed by the Euro and the Pound Sterling (Table 6).
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The share of on-site mode of delivery has come down from 25.5 per cent in 2007-08 to a little lower than a sixth of total software and ITES exports in 2018-19 (Table 7).
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The share of cross-border supply in exports of software services by India increased substantially at the cost of the overseas commercial presence mode of delivery (Table 8).
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Foreign affiliates of Indian companies continued to augment cross-border services provided by their parent companies in India, although software services provided through commercial presence of foreign affiliates declined by 21.5 per cent in 2018-19 (Table 9).
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Almost half of the software business by foreign affiliates of Indian companies was provided in the USA, followed by the UK (Table 10).
Ajit Prasad Director Press Release: 2019-2020/1210
Table 1: Survey Response and Final Estimates for 2018-19 – A Snapshot |
(₹ crore) |
Item |
Reported^ |
Final Estimates ** |
(1) |
(2) |
1. No. of companies |
1,818# |
8,084 |
2.Total Exports of Software Services |
6,76,190 |
8,24,245 |
2.1 IT services |
4,45,170 |
5,32,863 |
2.2 Software Product Development |
18,250 |
25,186 |
2.3 BPO Services |
1,61,760 |
2,04,814 |
2.4 Engineering Services |
51,010 |
61,382 |
3. Total Exports of Software Services (including commercial presence) |
7,92,698 |
9,40,762 |
3.1 Mode 1 (cross-border supply) |
5,71,077 |
6,96,127 |
3.2 Mode 2 (consumption abroad) |
265 |
323 |
3.3 Mode 3 (commercial presence) |
1,16,517 |
1,16,517 |
3.4 Mode 4 (presence of natural person) |
1,04,839 |
1,27,795 |
^ Response by the largest 20 companies ensured industry representation in the survey coverage. ** Details of estimation methodology are published in the article entitled ‘Survey on Computer Software and Information Technology Enabled Services Exports: 2016-17’ published in March 2018 issue of the RBI Bulletin. # includes 196 companies, which have reported ‘nil’ exports during 2018-19. |
Table 2: Software Services Export from India |
Activity |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
A). Computer Services |
4,80,990 |
74.0 |
68.2 |
5,58,049 |
79.8 |
67.7 |
Of which: i) IT services |
4,57,280 |
70.3 |
64.9 |
5,32,863 |
76.2 |
64.6 |
ii) Software Product Development |
23,710 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
25,186 |
3.6 |
3.1 |
B). IT Enabled Services |
2,24,130 |
34.4 |
31.8 |
2,66,196 |
38.1 |
32.3 |
Of which: i) BPO Services |
1,73,910 |
26.7 |
24.7 |
2,04,814 |
29.3 |
24.8 |
ii) Engineering Services |
50,220 |
7.7 |
7.1 |
61,382 |
8.8 |
7.5 |
Total Export of Software Services (A+B) |
7,05,120 |
108.4 |
100.0 |
8,24,245 |
117.9 |
100.0 |
Note: The sum of components may differ from total, due to rounding off. * Using annual average Rupee/ Dollar exchange rate. These footnotes are applicable for all other tables also. |
Table 3: Industry-wise Distribution of ITES/BPO Services Exports |
Activity |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
₹ Crore |
US $ billion |
Share (%) |
₹ crore |
US $ billion |
Share (%) |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
BPO Services |
1,73,910 |
26.7 |
77.6 |
2,04,814 |
29.3 |
77.0 |
Business consulting services including public relations services |
17,848 |
2.7 |
8.0 |
17,555 |
2.5 |
6.6 |
Finance and Accounting, auditing, book keeping and tax consulting service |
27,563 |
4.2 |
12.3 |
36,142 |
5.2 |
13.6 |
HR Administration |
1,395 |
0.2 |
0.6 |
1,291 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
Supply chain and other management services/ logistics |
865 |
0.1 |
0.4 |
709 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
Medical transcription and document management |
1,801 |
0.1 |
0.8 |
667 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
Content development and management and publishing |
1,705 |
0.3 |
0.8 |
3,732 |
0.5 |
1.4 |
Other BPO services |
1,22,733 |
18.9 |
54.7 |
1,44,718 |
20.7 |
54.3 |
Engineering Services |
50,220 |
7.7 |
22.4 |
61,382 |
8.8 |
23.0 |
Embedded Solutions |
7,950 |
1.2 |
3.5 |
7,267 |
1.0 |
2.7 |
Product Design Engineering (mechanical, electronics excluding software) |
15,880 |
2.4 |
7.1 |
20,983 |
3.0 |
7.9 |
Industrial automation and enterprise asset management |
1,050 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
1,365 |
0.2 |
0.5 |
Other Engineering services |
25,340 |
3.9 |
11.3 |
31,767 |
4.5 |
11.9 |
Total |
2,24,130 |
34.5 |
100.0 |
2,66,196 |
38.1 |
100.0 |
Table 4: Organisation-wise Distribution of Software Services Exports |
Types of Organisation |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
Private Limited Company |
3,64,710 |
56.1 |
51.7 |
4,24,834 |
60.8 |
51.5 |
Public Limited Company |
3,35,220 |
51.5 |
47.5 |
3,92,618 |
56.2 |
47.6 |
Others * |
5,190 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
6,793 |
1.0 |
0.9 |
Total |
7,05,120 |
108.4 |
100.0 |
8,24,245 |
117.9 |
100.0 |
* Others includes mostly LLPs. |
Table 5: Software Services Exports – Major Destination |
Activity |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
USA & Canada |
4,33,084 |
66.6 |
61.4 |
5,04,273 |
72.1 |
61.2 |
Europe |
1,69,512 |
26.1 |
24.0 |
2,11,007 |
30.2 |
25.6 |
of which, UK |
81,020 |
12.5 |
11.5 |
96,766 |
13.8 |
11.7 |
Asia |
59,584 |
9.2 |
8.5 |
56,131 |
8.0 |
6.8 |
of which, East Asia |
48,510 |
7.5 |
6.9 |
47,064 |
6.7 |
5.7 |
West Asia |
5,922 |
0.9 |
0.8 |
6,347 |
0.9 |
0.8 |
South Asia |
5,152 |
0.8 |
0.8 |
2,720 |
0.4 |
0.3 |
Australia & New Zealand |
23,900 |
3.7 |
3.4 |
27,612 |
3.9 |
3.4 |
Other countries |
19,040 |
2.9 |
2.7 |
25,222 |
3.6 |
3.0 |
Total |
7,05,120 |
108.4 |
100.0 |
8,24,245 |
117.9 |
100.0 |
Table 6: Software Services Exports - Currency Composition of Invoice |
Currency |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
USD |
5,12,559 |
78.8 |
72.7 |
5,94,534 |
85.0 |
72.1 |
EUR |
55,009 |
8.5 |
7.8 |
79,114 |
11.3 |
9.6 |
GBP |
48,857 |
7.5 |
6.9 |
55,399 |
7.9 |
6.7 |
INR |
32,300 |
5.0 |
4.6 |
37,322 |
5.3 |
4.5 |
AUD |
20,988 |
3.2 |
3.0 |
24,168 |
3.5 |
2.9 |
Other Currencies |
35,407 |
5.4 |
5.0 |
33,708 |
4.8 |
4.2 |
Total |
7,05,120 |
108.4 |
100.0 |
8,24,245 |
117.9 |
100.0 |
Table 7: Software Services Exports – Type of Services-wise |
Type of Services |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
₹ crore |
US $ billion* |
Share (%) |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
(5) |
(6) |
On-site services |
1,10,730 |
17.0 |
15.7 |
1,27,795 |
18.3 |
15.5 |
Off-site services |
5,94,390 |
91.4 |
84.3 |
6,96,450 |
99.6 |
84.5 |
Total |
7,05,120 |
108.4 |
100.0 |
8,24,245 |
117.9 |
100.0 |
Table 8: Mode-wise Exports of Software Services |
Type of Mode |
Amount (₹ crore) |
Share in Total (per cent) |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
(4) |
Mode 1 (cross-border supply) |
5,93,460 |
6,96,127 |
69.5 |
74.0 |
Mode 2 (consumption abroad) |
930 |
323 |
0.1 |
0.03 |
Mode 3 (commercial presence) |
1,48,510 |
1,16,517 |
17.4 |
12.4 |
Mode 4 (presence of natural person) |
1,10,730 |
1,27,795 |
13.0 |
13.6 |
Total |
8,53,630 |
9,40,762 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
Table 9: Software Business by Foreign Affiliates of Indian Companies during 2018-19 ─ Activity Distribution |
(amount in ₹ crore) |
Activity |
Locally |
To India |
Other Countries |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
IT services |
7,852 |
657 |
1,074 |
Software product development |
173 |
1 |
167 |
BPO services |
8,349 |
1,020 |
1,550 |
Engineering services |
520 |
33 |
71 |
Other services |
99,623 |
15,865 |
17,043 |
Total (₹ billion) |
1,16,517 |
17,576 |
19,905 |
Total (US $ billion*) |
16.7 |
2.5 |
2.8 |
Table 10: Software Business by Foreign Affiliates of Indian Companies during 2018-19 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) |
USA |
48.3 |
55,525 |
14,374 |
4,431 |
United Kingdom |
11.4 |
11,614 |
354 |
5,568 |
Canada |
4.8 |
6,754 |
93 |
577 |
Germany |
5.3 |
6,863 |
68 |
1,196 |
Singapore |
3.5 |
4,023 |
231 |
1,065 |
Netherlands |
5.0 |
6,546 |
39 |
1,059 |
Other Countries |
21.7 |
25,192 |
2,417 |
6,009 |
Total |
100.0 |
1,16,517 |
17,576 |
19,905 |
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