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Karnataka set to export $17.5 b. software

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR JULY 12. Karnataka is poised to export software worth $ 17.5 billion, the Minister of State for Information Technology, and Tourism, D.B. Inamdar, has said.

Releasing the Delixus software, developed by Delixus Inc. of the U.S. at its India base here on Saturday, Mr. Inamdar said Nasscom had predicted a high growth potential for the software industry, with the export target set at $ 50 billion.

The State would account for 35 per cent of the exports. He said the State had exported software worth Rs.14,500 crores this year, and the business was growing at a rate of 30 per cent.

At least 100 of the world's Fortune 500 companies had their back-up offices in Bangalore.

No other city in the world could boast of such a status. In the recent past, at least one multinational company used to launch a venture to open business in the State every week. This had now gone up to three to six companies.

The Government had been facilitating the growth of the industry.

The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, had formulated the millennium information technology and biotechnology policies, and the policy on information technology for the common man, and had been vigorously pursuing their implementation, he added.

Besides marketing the State's potential abroad, the Government was using IT as a tool to change the living standards of the people by introducing online accounting in treasuries, computerised tendering system and Bhoomi, a ready-reckoner of revenue documents. Many more such initiatives were in the pipeline, he said.

Commending Nazeer Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of Delixus Inc., U.S, for choosing his hometown, Tumkur, to locate the company's base, Mr. Inamdar said the Government was keen on developing Tumkur, Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad into software satellite centres for Bangalore.

The Minister said he was pleased that the pioneering work of integrating the power and performance of Linux with the easy-to-use functionality of Microsoft Windows desktop had been done in Tumkur for the first time in the world. Microsoft held monopoly over the field until Linux entered it during the last decade. But small businessmen could not derive its varied benefits owing to its complexities. Delixus, a simplified and an integrated version, would be widely welcomed, he added.

The Minister for Higher Education, G. Parameshwar, said Dr. Ahmed had taken hybridisation, hitherto limited to plants, to software too.

The development of Delixus software was a quiet revolution and it would take the world by storm.

Lauding the efforts of Dr. Ahmed in helping Tumkur find a distinguished place in the software field, Dr. Parameshwar said Dr. Ahmed had a brief stint in politics when he was elected to the Assembly from Tumkur in 1978.

He returned to the U.S. to become a scientist. Though he has got 12 patents and citizenship of that country, he has not forgotten Tumkur, he said.

Dr. Ahmed said the software would earn a business of Rs. 200 crores, and that was a modest target.

Of the world's $ 500 billion computer business potential, the small and medium businessmen had a share of $ 350 billion. Delixus had mainly targeted this sector.

Linux had a $ 5 billion business potential. Of this, software accounted for nearly $ 200 million. Delixus would grab at least 20 per cent of it.

S. Shafi Ahmed, KPCC secretary and brother of Dr. Ahmed, welcomed the gathering. G.S. Basavaraju, Tumkur MP, R. Narayan, Chairman, Karnataka Housing Board, M. Chickannaiappa, former Chief Engineer, N.R. Jagadhish, industrialist, Akber Ahmed Saleem, Director of Delixus India, and Rafiq Ahmed, Principal, HMS Institute of Technology, were present.

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