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Software exports rise 8.2%, with US taking more than half

English हिंदी ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം தமிழ் తెలుగు

First brief 22 Sep, 12:12 am IST Updated 22 Sep, 12:12 am IST 0 developments 3 min read

Infosys campus in Pune; file photo — Soumya S Das · CC BY-SA 4.0

Where it stands

India’s software-services exports rose 8.2% to $221.4 billion in 2025–26, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual survey. The comparable figure for 2024–25 was $204.7 billion. These exports include computer services and IT-enabled services supplied to customers abroad. The increase measures earnings from those services, not the number of software workers or their salary growth. Computer services accounted for $153.4 billion, while IT-enabled services contributed $68.0 billion. The United States remained the largest market, taking 54.1% of the total. Europe accounted for 31.8%, including the United Kingdom. This concentration means that demand and business conditions in major overseas markets remain important for India’s software sector, even as total exports grow. The way services are delivered also matters. Offsite delivery accounted for 91.7% of exports, while work performed onsite accounted for 8.3%. The headline total excludes services sold through overseas affiliates’ local operations. Including that commercial presence raises the wider estimate to $239.3 billion. The two totals answer different questions and should not be treated as competing estimates of the same coverage.

Background

An export need not be a physical product shipped across a border. An Indian firm can earn export revenue by developing software, managing computer systems or providing business services for a foreign client. The work may be delivered remotely or involve staff working at the client’s location. These arrangements explain why software trade is closely connected to communications technology, skills and international business demand. A firm can also establish an affiliate abroad that sells services in that foreign market. Those local sales are economically relevant, but they are not identical to services exported from India. Statistical coverage must distinguish the two before comparing totals. RBI therefore presents a main export estimate and a wider measure that includes overseas commercial presence. The survey also needs to account for firms that do not respond. RBI contacted 7,569 companies and received responses from 2,363, which represented about 89% of export value. It then estimated the remaining activity. The 89% figure refers to the value covered by respondents, not the share of contacted companies that replied. This broad coverage supports the estimate, but the release remains a survey-based measurement rather than a complete count of every transaction.

How it developed

18 September 2026; survey covers 2025–26

How it started
The survey separates export growth from delivery mode and market concentration

RBI’s annual survey estimates software-services exports excluding overseas commercial presence at $221.4 billion, up from $204.7 billion. Computer services increased from $138.1 billion to $153.4 billion. IT-enabled services increased from $66.6 billion to $68.0 billion. These components therefore contributed differently to the overall rise. The US market’s share rose from 52.9% to 54.1%, while Europe’s share declined from 32.8% to 31.8%. A falling share does not by itself establish that sales to a region fell in dollar terms. The report also records 72.6% of exports invoiced in US dollars. Invoice currency and customer location are different measures: a non-US customer can also be billed in dollars.

Reserve Bank of India Business Standard Akashvani / News on AIR

Why it matters for UPSC

GS3 · Services exports and external sectorGS2 · India–US economic relations

For GS3, distinguish goods exports, cross-border services and sales through overseas affiliates. Explain how strong services exports can support external earnings while market concentration creates exposure to overseas demand. Do not infer employment, wage or profit growth directly from an increase in export revenue.

Key terms

Services exportA service supplied to a customer abroad for payment, rather than a physical good sent overseas. Software development and remotely delivered business services are examples. The export value measures the service earnings covered by the survey, not the provider’s profit after expenses.

IT-enabled servicesBusiness services delivered with the help of information technology. The survey includes business-process outsourcing and engineering services within this grouping. It distinguishes these from computer services, so the headline software-services total is broader than software coding alone.

Offsite and onsite deliveryOffsite work is delivered away from the foreign client’s site; onsite work is performed at that site. RBI reports their shares separately. A high offsite share describes the delivery arrangement and does not mean the work is fully automated or requires no employees.

Commercial presence abroadProviding services through a business established in another country, such as an overseas affiliate. The affiliate’s local sales belong to the wider $239.3 billion measure. They are excluded from the headline $221.4 billion export estimate, so the totals should not be added together.

Market concentrationA large share of sales going to a limited number of markets. The US accounts for more than half of the software exports covered here. That creates a strong commercial relationship but also exposure if demand, regulation or client spending changes in that market.

Invoice currencyThe currency in which a bill is expressed. A customer outside the United States may still receive an invoice in US dollars. The dollar’s 72.6% invoicing share therefore cannot be used as the US market’s share, which is 54.1%.

Survey coverageThe part of the activity represented by the organisations that respond. Here, 2,363 responding companies account for about 89% of export value. That is different from an 89% response rate among the 7,569 companies contacted; RBI estimates the activity outside the responses.

Financial year 2025–26The accounting period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. The survey was released in September 2026 but measures exports during that earlier financial year. Its annual growth rate compares that period with 2024–25, not September with the previous month.

Sources (3)

Reserve Bank of India · official · Survey on Computer Software and Information Technology Enabled Services Exports: 2025–26; release 2026-2027/1147
Business Standard · India’s software services exports rise 8.2% to $221.4 billion in FY26
Akashvani / News on AIR · Software services exports rise 8.2% to $221.4 billion in 2025–26