The forecast includes spending by the Centre and state governments on internal services, software, IT services, data center systems, devices and telecom services.

New Delhi: Government is slated to spend USD 7.8 billion on information technology in 2017, an increase of 9.5 per cent over the last year, research firm Gartner today said. The forecast includes spending by the Centre and state governments on internal services, software, IT services, data center systems, devices and telecom services.

The software segment is expected to grow 15.7 per cent in 2017 to reach USD 1 billion, while desktop is expected to be the fastest growing segment with 16 per cent growth.

IT services (which include consulting, software support, business process outsourcing, IT outsourcing, implementation, and hardware support) is expected to grow 14.6 per cent this year to reach USD 2 billion, making it the largest segment within the IT spending category. Spending on devices like printers, copiers, MFPs, mobile devices, PCs and tablets is expected to grow 12.7 per cent in 2017 to reach USD 917 million.

"Government spending on IT services will total USD 2,093 million USD in 2017, a 15 per cent increase from 2016. The IT services market is led by growth in business process outsourcing," Gartner principal research analyst Moutusi Sau said.