Mr Dewang Mehta, president of National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), has said that the total software exports to France in the current year could exceed $50 million, up from the $28 million that was recorded in 1999. "We expect the same blistering pace of growth to continue in the case of France for 2001 when we expect the total exports to exceed $100 million," an enthusiastic Mr Mehta told India Abroad News Service in Paris.

The first steps towards reaching this seemingly ambitious target were taken at one-on-one business meetings organized by Nasscom during Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan's visit to Paris last week. Mr Mehta said the meetings alone could lead to business of over $15 million for Indian companies.

France now accounts for less than 0.75 per cent of total Indian software exports, which stood at more than $4 billion in 1999. At the end of this year, the French share of the exports is expected to rise, but only marginally, to 0.76 per cent. This places France behind Germany, Britain, Belgium and Switzerland as major importers of Indian software.

In 2001, the French share of total exports is expected to rise to 1 per cent, accounting for $100 million of the $10 billion target set for that year by Indian software firms. But Mehta now hopes to change all that. Last week's meeting was the second such contact between the information technology (IT) industries of the two countries in more than two years.

In October 1998, Nasscom had brought a similar delegation to France. Despite a successful visit, not much business followed. This time around, Mehta said the situation was entirely different. "The French industry has realized that they are getting left behind in Europe as well. And they know we are able to help them, so we see a brisk pace from here on," he said.

The French are eager to do business in three main areas of the IT sector - e-commerce, microelectronics software and IT-enabled services like call centers and back office operations. These are the traditional areas of strength for Indian companies.

For their part, Indian software companies too will focus more on continental Europe. "We will train our software engineers in the French language. Many companies are eager to open their subsidiaries here in France. This will help them in doing business here," said Mr Mehta.