The private sector is excited to export information technology (IT) by utilizing the opportunities brought by the development of (IT). After the government established a supportive legal framework to promote information technology, the private sector has been jubilant that billions can be earned from IT exports.

Ajit Bikram Shah, chairman of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) IT Council, said that the government's policy to encourage the IT sector through an ordinance has been motivating. Shah further added that with IT services worth about one billion dollars being exported from Nepal annually, this will further help in meeting the government's target.

“There is a legal provision that allows branch offices to be opened abroad for the facilitation of IT services,” said Shah, “This will greatly assist in marketing and exporting information technology abroad.”

IT has now become the largest source of economic income in the world. This has even surpassed the tourism sector. Sulav Budhathoki, head of the Innovative Nepal Group (ING), said that many opportunities have increased in the IT sector of Nepal as well.

“If Nepal produces IT manpower, it can generate an annual income of more than 1 trillion,” Budhathoki said at a conference organized by the Nepali Congress's Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development. “IT entrepreneurs should now motivate students to study IT,” he said “Now, a policy should be adopted to make it easy to study IT in every IT college without allocating quotas.”

A study conducted by the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) shows that although formal exports amounted to around Rs 68 billion, stakeholders in the sector say that the informal sector has now doubled.

IT services are understood as services related to information technology using computers and the Internet. Computer and Internet-related work such as hardware and software development, graphic designing, animation, telemedicine services, online marketing, and other work fall under IT services.

The various companies have been exporting this service both institutionally and individually. IT is currently the most prosperous sector in the global market. With almost all tasks being conducted online with the help of the internet, the demand for IT services has surged. After the COVID-19 pandemic, many people began working online, which has further increased opportunities in the IT sector. Some are providing IT services from Nepal to countries like the United States, India, China, Australia, Canada, and Europe.

Experts said that young people with IT skills can earn millions of rupees by staying in Nepal. Seeing the opportunity in IT, the government has declared an information technology decade in the budget for the current fiscal year. The government has set a 10 year target of Rs 3 trillion in IT exports and providing employment to 1.5 million people in the budget for the fiscal year 2024/25.

It seems that the goal is to achieve an annual information technology service export of Rs 3 trillion. The government has also announced plans to revise the ‘Digital Nepal Framework’, establish institutional arrangements for its implementation and monitoring, and operate IT parks with necessary infrastructure such as high-speed internet, electricity, and security in the Kathmandu Valley and Butwal.

The government plans to create at least 10 information technology parks covering every province. The government has started working towards the digital economy, promotion of innovation, job creation, and digital governance.

In 2022, IT services exports increased by 64.2 percent compared to 2021. The demand for IT in the global market is increasing every year. According to a study, 106 companies from Nepal are formally exporting IT services. About 80,000 people are working in the IT sector in Nepal.

By Dilip Paudel