LANGUAGE-RELATED
MARKET ACCESS FACILITATION INITIATIVE IN JAPANESE IT MARKET LAUNCHED
Shri Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, said
that Language-related market access facilitation initiative in
the Japanese IT market (LRMAFI) was an innovative instrument for
export promotion of knowledge-based IT products and services from
India to Japan. While officially launching the scheme, here today,
Shri Chatterjee said that the scheme would have far reaching implications
on Indo-Japanese business cooperation and strategic partners in
the IT sector as Japan is the second largest computer software
and services markets in the world. "Keeping this aspect in view,
the Department of Commerce has for the first time has approved
the language promotion scheme as one of the innovative instruments
for trade promotion between countries and regions", he informed.
Shri S. Laxminarayanan, Additional Secretary, Department of Information
Technology; Shri Deepak Puri, Chairman, Electronics & Computer
Software Export Promotion Council (ESC); and Mr. Hidehiro Ishiura,
Director General, JETRO were present in the function, along with
senior officials and software professionals, which was organised
by ESC.
Shri Chatterjee informed that India’s software
exports to Japan had increased to US $ 236.82 million in 2001-02
as compared to US $ 14.96 million in 1994-95. Citing lack of knowledge
in the local language, customs, culture and business practices
as major market access barriers, the Secretary termed the scheme
as relevant and timely. He said that this innovative scheme would
help in building up a critical mass of IT professionals/personnel
who can understand and communicate in the Japanese language along
with enabling the Indian IT firms to overcome language and culture-related
market access constraints. He appreciated the ESC for formulating
such a scheme as part of its strategy to take India’s IT exports
to Japan to new heights.
The LRMAFI scheme encourages exporters registered
with ESC, to have their IT professionals/personnel trained in
the Japanese language. It also encourages IT students to go in
for Japanese language course training side-by-side to increase
their employment potential with Indian firms active in the Japanese
markets and the Japanese firms whoever setting up their development
centers and IT outsourcing operations in India.
