India’s role in data trade may be stymied

Subject

Outlook for India's information technology services sector.

Significance

India’s three largest exporters of software services -- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro -- are in the midst of their quarterly reporting season, with Wipro due to report tomorrow and Infosys on October 24. On October 12, TCS announced a 2% fall in net profit in the July-September quarter compared with the same period a year earlier on a modest 4% rise in revenue. Despite this muted market for information technology (IT) services, India is seeking to increase sales and profits from the collection, processing and analysis of data.

Impacts

• Demand for information technology hardware products may increase in India.
• The global use of surveillance technology may increase.
• Private companies in India may have to frame and declare privacy policies.