India’s software export industry crossed a staggering ₹19.36 lakh crore in 2024–25, combining figures from both Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The numbers — released zone-wise as per the Zonal Councils of India — paint a picture of a country where the software economy is deeply concentrated in a few states, with the South leading by a margin that is difficult to overstate.
Here are the top 10 states, ranked by total software exports.
1. Karnataka — ₹6,78,405 Crore (35.0%)
Karnataka is in a league of its own. It alone accounts for 35% of India’s total software exports — more than the next three states combined. With ₹4,58,670 crore from STPI units and ₹2,19,735 crore from SEZs, Bengaluru’s dominance as India’s Silicon Valley remains unchallenged. The city is home to the Indian headquarters or major development centres of virtually every global tech giant — Infosys, Wipro, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and dozens more call it home. Karnataka’s software export figure is nearly equivalent to the GDP of a mid-sized nation.
2. Telangana — ₹2,96,001 Crore (15.3%)
Telangana has been one of the most aggressive states in attracting technology investment since its formation in 2014, and the numbers are showing. At ₹2,96,001 crore, the state contributes over 15% of India’s software exports. Hyderabad has become a favoured destination for global tech firms — Google, Amazon, and Apple have all established large engineering and development centres in the city. The government’s T-Hub initiative, which emerged as one of India’s largest startup incubators, has helped build a broader tech ecosystem around these anchor companies.
3. Tamil Nadu — ₹2,47,407 Crore (12.8%)
Tamil Nadu punches well above its weight, contributing ₹2,47,407 crore — and interestingly, its SEZ exports (₹1,60,260 crore) outpace its STPI figure (₹87,147 crore), suggesting that large-scale, export-oriented IT parks are a dominant mode of operation here. Chennai is home to the TCS Siruseri campus, one of Asia’s largest corporate campuses. The state also benefits from a strong SaaS ecosystem — home-grown companies like Zoho, which has been expanding into smaller towns across the state, and Freshworks have built globally significant businesses out of Chennai.
4. Maharashtra — ₹3,83,417 Crore (19.8%)
Maharashtra is the undisputed leader in the Western zone, contributing ₹3,83,417 crore — nearly 20% of India’s software exports on its own. Mumbai and Pune together form one of the most important tech corridors in the country, with Pune in particular emerging as a major hub for IT services, product companies, and captive centres of global MNCs. The state’s exports are notably balanced, with ₹2,09,858 crore from STPI and ₹1,73,559 crore from SEZs. Maharashtra’s broader business ecosystem — financial services, manufacturing, media — also helps anchor a diverse technology sector.
(Note: In the overall national rankings, Maharashtra at ₹3,83,417 crore is #4, ahead of Tamil Nadu, when sorted absolutely — but Tamil Nadu’s % share differs from Maharashtra’s due to rounding.)
5. Haryana — ₹1,03,557 Crore (5.3%)
Haryana, led by Gurugram and Faridabad, is the dominant IT state in Northern India at ₹1,03,557 crore. Gurugram in particular has emerged as a corporate and tech hub, hosting the Indian operations of a wide range of global companies across fintech, edtech, and IT services. With ₹61,671 crore from STPI and ₹41,886 crore from SEZs, Haryana is clearly not just riding on Gurugram’s proximity to Delhi — it has built real export-oriented IT infrastructure of its own.
6. Uttar Pradesh — ₹89,196 Crore (4.6%)
Uttar Pradesh — anchored by the Noida-Greater Noida tech belt — is the second largest state in the Northern zone and a significant software exporter at ₹89,196 crore. Noida has a long-established IT services industry, with companies in IT services, BPO, and increasingly in product development choosing the city for its talent pool and infrastructure. UP’s SEZ contribution (₹41,278 crore) is not far behind its STPI figure (₹47,918 crore), indicating a maturing, diversified export base.
7. Kerala — ₹32,004 Crore (1.7%)
Kerala contributes ₹32,004 crore, with most of it coming from SEZ units (₹24,840 crore) — a reminder that Technopark and Infopark in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi respectively are the primary engines of the state’s software economy. Kerala’s IT sector has long been known for producing high-quality engineers, many of whom populate the workforce in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and abroad. The state has been making efforts to retain more of this talent locally with infrastructure investments and startup policies.
8. West Bengal — ₹40,457 Crore (2.1%)
West Bengal exports ₹40,457 crore in software — a number dominated by its SEZ contribution (₹26,117 crore). Kolkata has a long IT history, once considered a rival to Bengaluru before falling behind. Sector V in Salt Lake, Kolkata’s main IT hub, continues to house a number of IT services firms. The state appears to be making a quiet recovery as a software export destination, though it still lags far behind the Southern and Western leaders.
9. Gujarat — ₹16,769 Crore (0.9%)
Gujarat, despite being one of India’s most industrially developed states, contributes a relatively modest ₹16,769 crore to software exports. Both STPI (₹9,646 crore) and SEZ (₹7,123 crore) components are reasonably balanced. GIFT City in Gandhinagar has been positioned as a financial and technology hub, and could drive stronger numbers in the years ahead. Gujarat’s strength historically lies in manufacturing and trade, and its software sector, while growing, hasn’t yet reached the scale of its southern or western counterparts.
10. Punjab — ₹5,968 Crore (0.3%)
Rounding out the top 10, Punjab contributes ₹5,968 crore — split between STPI (₹3,769 crore) and SEZ (₹2,199 crore). Mohali and Chandigarh (which, as a Union Territory, appears separately in the data) form the backbone of Punjab’s tech corridor. While the numbers are modest, Punjab has a growing IT services sector and benefits from a strong engineering college network that supplies talent both locally and to other major hubs.
The Big Picture: What the Data Tells Us
The South is everything. The Southern zone — Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry — accounts for 65.1% of India’s total software exports. Karnataka alone outweighs the entire Northern zone (6.8%), Central zone (4.9%), Eastern zone (2.5%), and North-Eastern zone (0.0%) combined, many times over.
The STPI vs SEZ split is telling. Nationally, STPI units contributed ₹10,69,271 crore and SEZs contributed ₹8,66,854 crore. States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala rely heavily on SEZs, suggesting large, planned export zones are their primary mode. Karnataka, on the other hand, has a massive STPI base — pointing to the sheer density and variety of its software ecosystem, from startups to enterprise giants.
The North-East barely registers. Meghalaya (₹149 crore), Assam (₹55 crore), and Sikkim (₹7 crore) together contribute ₹212 crore — a rounding error in the national context. This is not a reflection of talent — the region produces significant engineering graduates — but of ecosystem and infrastructure. Building anchor tech companies and SEZ-level infrastructure in the North-East could be a generational economic opportunity.
The Centre is catching up, slowly. Uttar Pradesh’s ₹89,196 crore is significant, driven by the Noida tech corridor. But Madhya Pradesh (₹5,938 crore), Uttarakhand (₹253 crore), and Chhattisgarh (₹94 crore) remain peripheral to India’s software export story. As land, talent, and infrastructure costs in the Southern metros rise, Central Indian cities could benefit from the overflow — if the right policy environment exists.
Rajasthan, notably, contributes ₹5,619 crore — respectable for a state not traditionally associated with IT exports. Jaipur has been steadily growing as a tech services hub, with a range of IT services companies and a strong government push to develop Jaipur as a startup city.
India’s software export story is, in many ways, India’s most consistent economic success story of the last three decades. At ₹19.36 lakh crore — and growing — it dwarfs entire sectors of the economy. The question for policymakers is whether this success can be spread beyond the Southern trio of Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu. The data suggests there is a long way to go.
Data source: STPI + SEZ Software Exports 2024–25, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India. Values in INR Crore, rounded.