Tech slump hits India's IT industry

Significance

Employment in the IT and business process management industry rose from 1.96 million in 2008-09 to 4.85 million in 2021-22, according to official data. Rising valuations in successive rounds of funding gave India more than 100 unicorns by 2021. However, the tech boom is now faltering in India and globally.

Impacts

• Foreign investor scrutiny of tech business models will intensify.
• US-dollar-denominated debt servicing will weigh down several Indian tech firms.
• Efforts to unionise tech industry workers will falter, given the longer-term trend of weakening unions in India.