Comparison Of Software Industry In India And China

There are now extensive studies of the growth of new firms and industries, especially in the context of regional clusters and regional processes of growth. Among these new industries the rapid development and diffusion of the information and communications technology (ICT) is the major driving force of the New Economy. While there is ample evidence to suggest that software industry, as an important part of the ICT industry, has contributed a great deal to the overall economic growth of the developed countries, its role in the developing countries is far from clear. So, many explanations have been advanced.In the development of the software, China is a new comer. In order to find common patterns and learn from the experience of software development in other countries, we examine countries that are at comparable stages of economic development. And India, with its fast growth in the world software market, might be a good choice. This paper attempts a synthesis. It examines the development and characteristics of software industry in India and China; it summarizes what is common and what is not in the experience of these two countries; it develops an interpretive framework for understanding the growth of the software industry in these countries; and finally, it attempts to distil the lessons that China can learn from India for its own further development. In other words, first it presents the facts, then interprets the facts, and finally discusses what it all may mean to China with software ambitions of its own.