According to Information Technology (IT) secretary R Chandrashekhar, the state exported Rs 573 crore worth of software during the year to March 1999 and the projected figure for the year to next March is Rs 1200 crore.

The growth is phenomenal considering that software exports, mainly from the state capital, had yielded a paltry Rs 2 lakh in 1991-92. Tamil Nadu is the only other state which has shown an equally rapid growth in software exports. The state exported Rs 738 crore worth of software last year to record a 151-per cent rise.

Bangalore seems to be losing ground as the city could register a growth rate of only 75 per cent last year. However, in absolute terms, Bangalore retained its supremacy by exporting software worth Rs 2888 crore. Noida was the second biggest exporter of software at Rs 1346 crore last year.

Many indications point to Hyderabad catching up with its main competitors in the southern region. The number of IT and software companies located in the city have shot up from 112 in 1997-98 to more than 250 at present. The 71-per cent rise compares with the 25 per cent increase registered by Bangalore, 36 per cent by Noida and 51 per cent by Chennai.

IT planners and strategists in Andhra Pradesh -- Naidu himself leading from the front -- are confident that with the same rate of growth in both exports and number of companies, Andhra Pradesh will be able to emerge as a leading player.

"The number of companies operating out of a city is a very important thing and a key indicator of the growth of IT and software industry.