New Delhi, March 5 (PTI): The software sector will be able to meet the export target of $60 billion by 2010, but the long-term growth rate and profitability will fall on account of less government support and imposition of taxes, industry association Nasscom said today.

“The present momentum should enable us to reach the target of $60 billion of exports in 2010. The software export industry will be able to meet the indicated export revenue of $31.6 billion this fiscal. But in the long run, with such discouraging policies, we expect a fall in growth rates and bottomlines, since the small and medium players in particular will be seriously affected by these changes,” Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said.

The sector is reeling under the budget hammering of a minimum alternate tax and there is no indication that the tax holiday will be extended beyond 2009.

Indian software and services (IT-BPO) exports will clock a growth of 32.6 per cent to exceed $31 billion this fiscal, a Nasscom review had said earlier.