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Indian IT exports to Japan set to zoom: CII

The Indian software industry is working to strongly enhance its presence in Japan, said Rajendra S Pawar, leader of CII industrial mission and chairman, NIIT, while addressing a Japan-India Business Meeting in Tokyo on Monday, coinciding with Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to the country.

Pawar said that while Japan accounted for only 4 per cent of India's software exports, the plans were to expand this to a figure of $5 billion by 2005.

Already over 50 Indian software companies had operations in Japan, to marry the hardware capabilities of Japan with India's software expertise.

Pawar was speaking on behalf of CII at the business meet jointly organised by Japan Federation of Employers' Associations, Japan India Business Co-operation Committee, Japan Federation of Economic Organisations, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Keizai Doyukai and Japan Foreign Trade Council, along with CII and FICCI.

He said that there were bright opportunities to enhance Indo-Japanese co-operation in the current environment of economic liberalisation in India and the strong focus on global partnerships.

Pawar highlighted CII's excellent track record of co- operation with these Japanese professional bodies:

• Union of Japanese Scientists & Engineers, leading to two Indian companies winning the prestigious Deming prize of Japan.
• Japan Institute of Plant Maintenance, as a result of which 11 Indian companies have qualified in the JIPM award of excellence in the total productive maintenance.
• Association of Overseas Technical Scholarship under which a number of training programmes have been jointly organised.

Pawar suggested four specific areas to build Indo-Japanese economic cooperation:

1. Doubling bilateral trade from the present $3.5 bn in 5 years;
2. Japanese participation in Indian economic projects, specially those relating to infrastructure;
3. Competitiveness issues such as quality, productivity and efficiency;
4. Information technology.

The Indo-Japan business meet was also addressed by the Union Minister for Divestment Arun Shourie who updated the Japanese businessmen on the reforms programme.

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