Some were worried that once-stellar growth could be stalling

Wipro had revenues of $1.4bn (�750m) in the year to March, a 49% jump on the previous year.

The company attributed the jump not merely to increasing volumes, but to higher prices - a sign that Indian tech firms no longer compete only on value.

Wipro is one of the most successful firms in the outsourcing sector.

Like Infosys, it has benefited from a boom in back-office services such as handling customer calls for companies abroad, and has done work for more than half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list.

On the up

Things were not all rosy for Wipro in 2003, however.

The company bemoaned the fall in the US dollar, the currency in which most of its revenue is calculated.

The 49% jump in dollar revenues translated into only a one-third increase in rupee terms.

But analysts said the Wipro figures helped dispel lingering concerns that the Indian hi-tech sector could be slowing down.

"Five IT companies have declared results and given strong forecasts on growth prospects," said Kaushik Poddar of KB Capital Markets.

"This clearly heralds a better future for the sector."

India's software exporters are forecast to achieve a revenue total of $13bn for 2003.