National Policy on Software Products 2019 Gets Cabinet Approval

The Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved National Software Policy 2019 which will help transform the country into “Software Product Nation.”

“Initially, an outlay of Rs 1500 Crore is involved to implement the programmes/ schemes envisaged under this policy over the period of 7 years. Rs 1500 Crore is divided into Software Product Development Fund (SPDF) and Research & Innovation fund,” stated a government release.

Under the scheme, 10,000 technology startups in the software product industry will be nurtured, including 1000 such technology startups in Tier-II and Tier-III towns & cities. These startups are expected to generate direct and indirect employment for 3.5 million people by 2025.

Also, to expand the software product ecosystem, it is imperative to create a talent pool to cater to different needs. Hence the government will upskill of 1,000,000 IT professionals, motivate 100,000 school and college students and generate 10,000 specialised professionals that can provide leadership.

Twenty strategically located software product development centres will be set up to provide integrated ICT infrastructure, marketing, incubation, R&D/testbeds and mentoring support.

Apart from these clusters, the government will put in place a National Software Products Mission that will include participation from the government, academia and industry.

National Electronics Policy

On 19 February, the Cabinet approved the National Electronics Policy 2019 which aims to achieve a turnover of Rs 2,600,000 crores ($400 billion) by 2025 via the domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

The Policy aims to catapult India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) by incentivising and building capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets, and creating an environment for the industry to compete globally.

Also Read: Indian IT Industry Leapfrogging: To Invest Heavily In AI, Automation In 2019, Will Add 2.5 Lakh New Jobs