Hyderabad, Jun 5 (IANS): Telangana registered 31.44 per cent growth in information technology exports and added nearly 1.27 lakh new jobs during 2022-23, surpassing the expectations.

The state clocked IT/ITeS exports of Rs 2,41,275 crore during the year against Rs 1,83,569 crore in 2021-22. The growth in exports was 26 per cent during the previous year.

Minister for Information Technology K. T. Rama Rao on Monday announced the figures while releasing the department's annual report. He said the state's impressive performance surpassed all national averages.

"Despite Covid impact, recession and global slowdown, Telangana witnessed a remarkable increase in IT/ITeS exports, reaching a staggering Rs 2,41,275 crore during the fiscal year 2022-23. This represents an astounding growth of 31.44 per cent compared to the previous financial year," he said.

The surge of Rs 57,706 crore in the fiscal year 2022-23 is the highest annual rise since the formation of the state in 2014.

Telangana added 1,27,594 new jobs during the financial year 2022-23, bringing the total IT/ITeS employment to 9,05,715. This represents an impressive year-on-year increase of 16.29 per cent compared to the FY 2021-22.

The minister said that with rapid strides in its IT/ITeS sector exports and employment generation, Telangana is positioning itself to exceed the target of Rs 3 lakh crore exports and 10 lakh jobs set in the 2nd ICT Policy 2021-26.

In fact, Telangana is poised to achieve these ambitious milestones as early as next year (2024), two years ahead of schedule, he said.

KTR said that the state has come a long way since 2013-14 when the IT/ITeS exports were only Rs 57,258 crore. The number of people employed in the sector was Rs 3,23,396.