India’s Software Services Exports Rise 8.2% to $221.4 Billion in FY2025-26

India’s software services exports continued to expand in FY2025-26, rising 8.2% year-on-year to $221.4 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual Survey on Computer Software and Information Technology Enabled Services Exports. The figure excludes sales made through the overseas commercial presence of Indian companies and covers computer services as well as IT-enabled and business-process outsourcing services.

The RBI contacted 7,569 software-exporting companies for the 2025-26 survey, of which 2,363 companies responded, including most of the country’s large software exporters. These respondents accounted for around 89% of the estimated value of India’s software services exports, giving the survey broad coverage of the industry.

Computer Services Remain the Largest Export Segment

Computer services continued to account for more than two-thirds of India’s software services exports during FY2025-26. Their share increased from 67.4% in the previous year to 69.3%, while the value of exports rose from $138.1 billion to $153.4 billion.

Within this category, IT services remained the dominant component. IT services exports increased from $131.3 billion in FY2024-25 to $147 billion in FY2025-26, raising their share of total software services exports from 64.1% to 66.4%.

Software product development moved in the opposite direction during the year. Exports in this category declined from $6.8 billion to $6.4 billion, while their share of overall software services exports fell from 3.3% to 2.9%.

IT-Enabled Services Reach $68 Billion

Exports of IT-enabled services, including business-process outsourcing and engineering services, increased to $68 billion in FY2025-26 from $66.6 billion in the previous financial year. Their share of total software services exports, however, declined from 32.6% to 30.7% as computer services grew more rapidly.

Business-process outsourcing remained the largest component of IT-enabled services. BPO exports stood at $56 billion, accounting for 82.4% of the ITES segment, while engineering services exports increased from $10.8 billion to $12 billion during the year.

The growth in engineering services is particularly notable within the composition of software exports because it reflects activity extending beyond conventional software delivery into technology-intensive engineering and design services.

United States Remains India’s Largest Software Export Market

The United States continued to dominate India’s software services export market in FY2025-26. Its share increased from 52.9% to 54.1%, while the value of software exports to the country rose from $108.3 billion to $119.7 billion.

Europe remained the second-largest regional destination, accounting for 31.8% of India’s software services exports, compared with 32.8% in the previous year. Within Europe, the United Kingdom remained the largest market, accounting for 15.4% of India’s total software services exports, with exports valued at approximately $34 billion.

Asia accounted for 6.3% of India’s software services exports during the year, while Australia and New Zealand together represented 2.5%. Canada maintained a 1.3% share, with software exports valued at around $3 billion.

Off-Site Delivery Becomes Even More Dominant

Software services continued to be delivered overwhelmingly through the off-site model. Off-site exports increased to $203 billion in FY2025-26, accounting for 91.7% of total software services exports, compared with a 90.7% share in the previous year.

On-site services accounted for the remaining 8.3%, with exports valued at $18.4 billion. This was slightly lower than the $19 billion recorded in FY2024-25.

The growing share of off-site delivery reflects the extent to which India’s software export industry is able to provide services remotely from domestic delivery centres rather than relying primarily on employees working at customer locations overseas.

US Dollar Remains the Principal Invoicing Currency

The US dollar remained the principal currency used for invoicing India’s software services exports. Dollar-denominated transactions accounted for 72.6% of exports in FY2025-26, equivalent to around $160.7 billion.

The euro accounted for 9.6%, while the Indian rupee represented 6.3% and the pound sterling accounted for 6%. The Australian dollar represented around 2%, while other currencies together accounted for 3.5%.

The predominance of the dollar reflects both the importance of the United States as India’s largest software-export market and the wider use of the US currency in international technology and services contracts.

Private Limited Companies Dominate Software Exports

Private limited companies remained the largest contributors to India’s software services exports during FY2025-26. According to the RBI survey, these companies accounted for 60.8% of software exports, while public limited companies contributed 36.9%.

The RBI also reported that exports by private limited companies grew by 9.3% during the year, reinforcing their dominant position within the sector.

The structure reflects the large number of privately held technology companies operating across software development, business-process outsourcing, engineering services and specialised digital services.

Total Software Exports Including Overseas Presence Reach $239.3 Billion

When services delivered through the overseas commercial presence of Indian companies are included, India’s total software services exports increased by 9.5% to $239.3 billion in FY2025-26, compared with $218.6 billion in the previous financial year.

Cross-border supply remained the largest mode of delivery, accounting for $202.7 billion, or 84.7% of the total. Services delivered through overseas commercial presence contributed $17.9 billion, while services supplied through the presence of Indian professionals abroad accounted for $18.4 billion.

Consumption abroad contributed a relatively small $0.3 billion to the overall total.

Overseas Affiliates Expand Their Local Business

The local software business conducted by foreign affiliates of Indian companies also increased sharply during FY2025-26. The value rose from $13.9 billion in FY2024-25 to $17.9 billion, indicating growing business activity by Indian-owned technology operations established overseas.

The United States and the United Kingdom remained the major destinations for this locally delivered business. This overseas commercial presence allows Indian software companies to serve customers directly in foreign markets while complementing the much larger volume of services delivered from India.

India’s Software Export Base Continues to Broaden

The RBI data show that India’s software-export industry remained firmly anchored in IT services and business-process outsourcing during FY2025-26, while engineering services continued to gain ground. Computer services increased their share of total exports, and off-site delivery became still more dominant.

The United States continued to account for more than half of India’s software-services exports, making it by far the country’s most important technology-services market. Europe remained a substantial second pillar, with the United Kingdom continuing to play the largest role within the region.

The rise to $221.4 billion in software services exports, and to $239.3 billion when overseas commercial presence is included, underlines the continuing importance of software and IT-enabled services to India’s external sector. The industry remains one of the country’s largest sources of export earnings and continues to combine domestic delivery capacity with an expanding international commercial presence.

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References

Reserve Bank of India — Survey on Computer Software and Information Technology Enabled Services Exports: 2025-26, Press Release 2026-2027/1147, 18 September 2026
https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=63625

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