'India's IT potential is huge'

Karnataka Minister for IT and Tourism D B Inamdar said on Thursday that India had tremendous potential in the IT sector.

Inaugurating the Kochi operations of Dimensions Cybtertech (India) Pvt Ltd, at Infopark, Kakkanad, he said though India's potential in the IT sector was tremendous, it was not being utilised to the fullest extent possible.

Stressing that IT had changed a lot of things, he said trained people from different regions of the country who had gone abroad for occupational and educational purposes had shown to the world India's potential in the field.

Studies conducted by experts had predicted that India's exports in the IT sector would be $50 billion by 2008, he said, adding that if India had to attain that, more centers like Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata would have to be developed.

Out of the total IT business carried out throughout the world, India's share was less than one per cent. Last year India's export in the IT sector was about $10 billion, he said.

Kerala, was one of the states that had not utilised the potential, he said, adding that with its 99 per cent literacy rate and human resources available, the state had the potential to develop the IT sector.