20-25 lakh jobs will be created in IT sector in 4-5 years: Ravi Shankar Prasad - Hindustan Times
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20-25 lakh jobs will be created in IT sector in 4-5 years: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Indo Asian News Service, New Delhi | ByIndo Asian News Service
Jul 13, 2017 01:57 PM IST

Speaking on the recent cyber attack by ransomware virus ‘WannaCrypt’, the Minister said that India has been one of the least affected by the ransomware.

Denying the reports of a downturn in employment in the country’s IT industry, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said that almost 20-25 lakh additional jobs will be created in the sector in the next four to five years.

Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad addresses a press conference on the achievements of the Ministry during 3 years of NDA Government, in New Delhi on Tuesday.(PTI PHOTO)
Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad addresses a press conference on the achievements of the Ministry during 3 years of NDA Government, in New Delhi on Tuesday.(PTI PHOTO)

“I completely deny and refute that there is any downturn in the employment in the IT sector. It is robust. Once the digital economy is here, you will see how much it will progress,” the Minister said during an interaction with reporters at a press meet in the ministry.

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“Indian IT companies are spread across 200 cities and 80 countries around the world, which provide direct employment to 40 lakh people and indirect employment to almost 1.3 crore people. As the industry is moving forward, it is Nasscom’s assessment that in the coming four to five years, almost 20-25 lakh additional jobs will be created,” he added.

The Minister said that in the next five to seven years, India’s digital economy will be of an estimated $1 trillion in value, which is almost Rs 600 lakh crore.

“In the last three years, almost six lakh people have been employed in our IT sector. In 2016-17, the number of people employed was around 1.7 lakh,” he said.

“We have common service centres in about 2.5 lakh cities and almost 10 lakh people are employed there.”

The Indian IT companies currently serve two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies and have created 40 lakh direct jobs in India, the ministry said in a statement.

The minister also said that the IT Ministry has taken note of projections by software industry organisation Nasscom to present an objective and realistic potential of the employment scenario.

“Nasscom has confirmed that the industry continues to be a net hirer and reports that 2.5-3 million new jobs will be created by 2025. In 2016-17, the industry added 170,000 new jobs,” the release said.

Speaking on the recent cyber attack by ransomware virus ‘WannaCrypt’, the Minister said that India has been one of the least affected by the ransomware.

“About 200 locations were there and they were all stand alone computers, because we had taken proactive measures from March itself by having the Microsoft patch being installed, by sending advisories. We are constantly updating,” the Minister said.

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