Lok Sabha Question No. 656 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-19
Subject: Job Losses in IT Sector
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: SUPRIYA SADANAND SULE, RAJEEV SHANKARRAO SATAV, RAM KUMAR SHARMA KUSHWAHA, DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, P.R. SUNDARAM, JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, (ADV.) JOICE GEORGE, RAMACHANDRAN MULLAPPALLY, VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL, HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  656

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 19.07.2017

## JOB LOSSES IN IT SECTOR

## 656 :     SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE:    SHRI SATAV RAJEEV:    SHRI RAM KUMAR SHARMA:

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK:  SHRI P.R. SUNDARAM:  DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN: ADV. JOICE GEORGE:  SHRI MULLAPPALLY RAMACHANDRAN: SHRI  MOHITE  PATIL  VIJAYSINH  SHANKARRAO:    DR.  HEENA  VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT:

Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state: -

- (a) whether the Government's attention has been drawn towards the slow digitisation and job losses in the IT sector, if so, the details of jobs being provided in IT Sector presently and the reasons for slow down in job growth in IT Sector;
- (b) whether the Government has assessed the number of people who have been rendered jobless in the IT Sector and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is planning to convene a meeting of bigwigs of the tech industry to get an  outlook  on  the  sector  and  the  help  that  they  need  from  the  Government  to  expand  India's digital economy and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the other corrective steps taken by the Government to arrest job losses in the IT Sector;
- (e) whether the information technology sector has been providing employment to 40 lakh persons on an average annually; and
- (f) if so, the facts in this regard and the current status thereof ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI P. P. CHAUDHARY)

(a) and (b):   According to National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the IT-ITeS industry is estimated to employ nearly 39 lakh people in 2017, an addition of ~170,000 people over FY 2016.  There is a continuing trend of  gentle deceleration in net hiring growth rate (but with a growing base) as industry focuses on innovation, new digital technologies and enhanced efficiencies. Companies  are  re-aligning  and  re-adjusting  themselves  to  the  changing  business  scenarios  and adjusting  their  workforce  accordingly.   Additionally,  technologies  such  as  advanced  robotics  and automation are changing job roles drastically across industries.

- (c) and (d):    Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has already conducted a high level round  table  discussion   on  16-06-2017  with  bigwigs  of  the  IT-ITeS  industry  for  developing  the roadmap for one trillion dollar digital economy of India.
- (e) and (f):    According to NASSCOM, employment to 40 lakh persons on an average annually by the IT  industry  is  not  tracked.  However,  the  industry  is  estimated  to  employ  nearly  39  lakh  people currently, an addition of ~170,000 people over FY 2016.  The trend over the last 3 years is as follows:

| Year   | Number of Total employees Net addition during the year Growth in Total employees   |
|--------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FY2014-15   | 3,485,000   | 217,000   | 7%   |
|-------------|-------------|-----------|------|
| FY2015-16   | 3,688,000   | 203,000   | 6%   |
| FY2016-17   | 3,863,000   | 175,000   | 5%   |

Source: NASSCOM

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