The recession-hit IT industry of the country has hailed the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, especially sops announced for the segment to help the ailing industry.

The government has extended tax holiday for one year from March 2010 to March 2011, enabling IT firms to either export or import hardware/software duty free for one more year. The move will be helpful for all new firms and companies registered with software Technology Park of India (STPI) in the Kokar Industrial Area.

The major beneficiaries include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Technologies Limited, Nath Corp, Vidushi Infotech, Mica EduCom, Software Technology Pvt. Ltd, Scorpiaan Teletech Inc and Vision Eternity and Xiphias Software Technology Pvt. Ltd etc.

An official of TCS hailed concessions for export industry, and said that the corporate tax reimbursement will prove useful for the firm. An STPI official said that budget sops will help in reviving demand in the industry by mitigating the impact of global slowdown.

Usha Nath, the director of US-based Nath Corp, said that the tax holiday extension will be useful for its parent company in the US. He added: "We are a 100 per cent export-oriented company. The tax holiday scheme will benefit us a lot. Besides, other smaller companies that have recently come up here will also gain."