India has emerged over the last 20 years as the most preferred destination for outsourcing of Information Technology (IT) services. The vibrant IT industry is contributing immensely by providing information about latest technology and international business practices. Various sectors of the Indian economy, such as industry, finance, insurance, communications and transport, have adopted IT in a big way. Trade in IT and IT-enabled services has been the main driver of growth in India`s trade in services in recent years. Starting out with basic data entry tasks, the industry has rapidly acquired a reputation as the primary lowcost destination for voice-based customer contact/support services, finance and accounting, and a range of back-office processing activities.

    The past few years have seen the scope of these services expanding to include increasingly more complex processes involving rule-based decision making and research/analytics services requiring informed individual judgment and domain/vertical knowledge. Indian companies adopt all the modes for supply of IT services abroad. The larger companies have set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in USA, UK and the European continent or have opened branches to facilitate the supply of services. Some of them have adopted the strategy of acquiring local companies or entering into strategic partnerships with them. They use the quality processes, innovative technologies and delivery models of acquired companies to penetrate the local market. They have permanent employees or hire consultants based in the host country. However, there are certain areas of concern which need to be given the desired policy attention and weightage. Some of these are: (a) sustainability of high growth rate of software exports in future, (b) shortage of skilled labour, (c) low diffusion of information technology in the domestic market, (d) lagging hardware sector, (e) regional concentration and (f) excessive dependence on USA. Hence, there is a need for recasting of approach to the growth of IT sector. Dispassionate debate/discussion on the various aspects of Indian IT sector is a necessary requirement for such a rethink.

    It is against this backdrop that the present volume seeks to provide answers to some of the key issues and questions. It consists of 16 research papers, authored by eminent scholars in the field, which have been categorised in the following 3 theme parts: Part I: Performance, Challenges and Prospects of Indian IT Sector, Part II: Diffusion (Use) of IT into Other Sectors of the Economy and Part III: Social Aspects of IT Sector.

1. IT Industry in India: Leading Software and Lagging Hardware - K.J. Joseph

2. Economic Upgrading in India`s IT/ IT-Enabled and BPO Sectors - Babu P. Remesh

3. Productivity Growth, Firm Dynamics and Knowledge Spillovers: Recent Evidence from the Indian Electronics Industry - Shishir Saxena

4. Quality Aspect of Indian Software Industry - Santhosh Rebello

5. Tardy Growth of IT Hardware Industry in India - D.N. Rao

6. TRIPS, R&D in Microsoft and Reforming Copyright Laws for IT Competitiveness - Neha Aggrawal and Ravinder Goel

7. Information Technology, Globalization and International Migration: The Indian Experience -Zakir Hussain

8. Split- Unit Approach for Demand and Supply Management of IT Resources - Krishan Kumar

9. Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry in Sri Lanka and India - M.F.M. Nusry

10. Role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Enhancing Cooperation in South Asia - Somesh Kumar Mathur

11. E-comfortability and Digital Divide amongst Retail Investors: The Indian Scenario - Prathiba Wasan.

12. IT Solutions for Energy Market - Vrushal T. Ghoble.

13. IT-enabled Good Governance in India - Harinam Singh.

14. E-governance in Vietnam - Pham Van Bo.

15. Parental Reactions to Daughter`s Unconventional Work Hours at Call Centres in India - Shelly Tara and P. Vigneswara Ilavarasan.

16. Groupware Research and Technology Issues in Software Process Management - M.Y. Khan.

    M.S. Bhatt is Professor and Head, Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi, India. He has been associated, among others, with the University of Kashmir, Srinagar; Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi; Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi; Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore and Centre for Rural and Industrial Research, Chandigarh. His major sphere of interest comprises development economics, agrarian economics, environmental economics and Kashmir studies. Professor Bhatt was a member of the expert committee for economic reforms (Godbole Committee) appointed by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. He has also acted as a principal investigator in a number of research projects. He is currently directing a number of research projects including University Grants Commission`s Special Assistance Programme in Environmental Economics. He has to his credit 4 books and over 70 published articles in referred journals.

    Asheref Illiyan is Senior Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), New Delhi. His main areas of interest include economics of information technology, agriculture and rural development, planning and decentralized governance and industrial economics. He has published a number of articles in reputed national and international journals on planning and rural development, economics of information technology and engineering goods industries. He has to his credit 1 edited book.