Infosys: Indian IT industry to create 2.5 lakh jobs in 2013

DAVOS: Enthused by improving global economic scenario and a renewed wave of reforms back in India, IT giant  Infosys says it is bullish over better growth prospects of IT sector in 2013 and expects greater job creation this year. "I believe 2013 to be better than 2012 for IT sector as globally lots of uncertainties have been removed, US elections are over, Europe is not going to split and people believe that it is going to stay together," Infosys Co-founder and Executive Co-Chairman  S Gopalakrishnan told PTI here. Kris, as he is known, is here for the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum along with the top executives of a host of other Indian IT firms such as TCS, Wipro, HCL and Mahidra Satyam-Tech Mahindra. "When I say 2013 is going to be better, this means that growth opportunities for  Indian IT industry is going to be better and that is what I expect," he said. "That also means that more jobs will be created by the industry. 25 lakh people are currently employed by IT industry and even if you look at 10 per cent growth, then you are looking at 2-2.5 lakh additional people being hired by the industry and that is very good. Kris said that a clearer picture would emerge after Infosys and other IT firms announce their full fiscal results for 2012-13. About the broader economic scenario, Kris said, "Reforms that have happened in last few months have improved the sentiments, increased the confidence, and I except the growth to reach 7 per cent or more in 2013. "This is a right signal to the investment community saying that we continue to emphasise on economic growth and on attracting investment and continue to focus on making sure that jobs are created with economic growth. "It's actually a very positive thing and the reaction that I am getting from the foreign investment community and the business leaders here is that they want this to be continued and sustained and I am hoping that we will see more announcements and more initiatives from the government and that will help us achieve a seven per cent growth and even more," he said. S Gopalakrishnan, along with  NR Narayana Murthy and five others, founded Infosys in 1981. He has served as Director (Technical) and his initial responsibilities included the management of design, development, implementation, and support of information systems for clients in the consumer products industry in the US. Before becoming the CEO and Managing Director in July 2007, Kris had served as the company's Chief Operating Officer, President and Joint Managing Director, responsible for customer services, technology, investments, and acquisitions. He took over as the Executive Co-Chairman on August 21, 2011. Infosys on January 11, beat market expectations with its December quarter results and also raised dollar revenue guidance for the fiscal ending March 31, while country's largest software services firm  TCS also beat forecasts and said it was very confident heading into the new year. Country's third largest software services firm  Wipro beat market expectations by posting 18 per cent gain in net profit at Rs 1,716 crore for October-December quarter, and  HCL Technologies beat market estimates with 68.4 per cent jump in quarterly profit. According to research firm Gartner, spending on  IT services will grow 5.2 per cent to $927 billion in 2013, compared with growth of 1.8 per cent in 2012. Source: PTI