IT revenues to grow 2.3%: Nasscom

NEW DELHI: Despite a dip in global technology spending amid the coronavirus pandemic, the country's information technology sector is set to post a 2.3% rise in revenues to USD 194 billion in the current fiscal, Nasscom said.

The industry added 1.38 lakh people to its workforce on a net basis during the year, taking the total number of employees to 44.7 lakh, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said in its review of the current financial year ending March 31.

Over the past few years, the industry has been clocking a revenue growth in higher single digits or double digits as the demand for IT services in a digitising world continues to grow.

However, the pandemic led to a sharp dip in growth hitting tech spend while the lockdown also led to concerns over delivery as work shifted from campuses to homes.

Nasscom's President Debjani Ghosh said the industry reworked its models amid the lockdowns and ensured that work continues to get delivered as per schedules, and IT is now the first sector to call out a revival post pandemic.

"We have emerged more resilient and more relevant from the crisis. We have been the bellwether to lead the fight against COVID," she said.

Exports for the fiscal year ending March 2021 are set to grow 1.9% to USD 150 billion while domestic revenues are projected to rise at a faster clip of 3.4% to USD 45 billion, the industry lobby group said.

Expectedly, Donald Trump has got away unpunished. The failure of the US Senate to impeach him a second time would mean that he can still continue to mess with the Republican Party. Such a polarising figure in American politics does not augur well for the future of the most powerful country in the world. At a time when China is challenging the US both on the economic and military fronts and bids fair to replace the US as the number one power in the next decade or so, someone like Trump dominating the Republican Party is a matter of great concern. That he intends to try and win back the presidency in 2024 is a frightening thought for anyone who holds the cause of democracy dear. Of course, such a prospect would be most welcome in Beijing and Moscow. Even those Republican Senators who acknowledged that Trump instigated the storming of the Capitol on January 6 voted against the impeachment, for fear of being isolated by the Republican base which is still in thrall of the former president. This only shows how polarising a figure Trump is. The seven Republican Senators who voted with the 50 Democrats have now come under pressure in their respective states from the Trumpian base of their party. Yet, the seven need to be commended for standing up for higher ideals than some of their colleagues, who, while fully aware of Trump’s complicity in the violent attack on the Capitol. stopped short of impeaching him. Such selfishness disfigures American democracy. Hopefully, under Biden, the Republican base will feel encouraged to shun Trump and his extremist politics.

NEW DELHI: The Chinese People's Liberation Army is finally vacating Finger 4 area on the norther n bank of Pangong lake that it had occupied last year and changed the status quo on the Line of Actual Control with India. The Chinese troops are dismantling shelters and removing other structures they had built up during the occupation.

This is happening as per the disengagement agreement between India and China.

The agreement states that Chinese troops will move back to Finger 8 and Indian troops will pull back to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 of the north bank of Pangong lake. Further, there would be a temporary moratorium on military activities, including patrolling in the traditional areas.