State govt plans incentives for IT industries in underserved regions

In an attempt to develop the information technology (IT) and the information technology enabled services (ITES) sector outside the traditional Mumbai-Pune belt, the state government is planning to offer incentives to companies interested in investing in the underserved regions of Maharashtra

In an attempt to develop the information technology (IT) and the information technology enabled services (ITES) sector outside the traditional Mumbai-Pune belt, the state government is planning to offer incentives to companies interested in investing in the underserved regions of Maharashtra.

Indian commuters pass a building housing a software company at Cyberabad IT City on the outskirts of Hyderabad, 03 August 2007.With new threats of terror operatives trying to infiltrate software companies emerging, Cyberabad Security Council (CSC) and police authorities have decided to put employees working at high-tech city and other Information Technology (IT) hubs under the scanner. An employee databank will be created and put at the disposal of authorities. A decision on the data bank was taken recently in the wake of perceived security threats to IT companies from terrorist organisation. AFP PHOTO/Noah SEELAM (AFP)

Officials said these sops would be part of the draft IT/ITES policy, which is expected to be placed before the state cabinet soon.

“At present, the IT sector has a strong presence in Mumbai and Pune regions and a peripheral presence in cities like Nashik and Nagpur. We are planning to catalyse the development of the IT sector in other parts of Maharashtra like the other divisional headquarters,” an official from the department of industries said.

He said the draft IT/ITES policy could have concessions like those in stamp duty and electricity duty, lower or subsidised power tariffs, and greater floor space index, apart from the ease of doing business initiatives. These concessions may be given to software parks and also to the standalone units.

At present, the IT/ ITES policy 2015 is in force. The official said most of the objectives of the policy like the establishment of IT and ITES units, data centres, and software exports had been met. However, the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector did not take off as expected, and the new policy is likely to give this a push.

The official said divisional headquarters like Amravati and Nagpur could get a steady inflow of investment in the IT sector due to the development of Samruddhi Mahamarg. The under-construction, Greenfield 701-km Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi communication super expressway will connect the state capital to the second capital in just eight hours.

Similarly, towns like Kolhapur, which have a trained pool of manpower due to the presence of engineering colleges and also salubrious weather could also emerge as investment destinations.

“We are intent on promoting the divisional headquarters as growth centres and may also facilitate tie-ups between the companies and educational institutions for availability of manpower. But most IT giants want to invest in metros or cities like Pune as they have a trained talent pool,” he said.

Deepak Ghaisas, former member of the NASSCOM executive council, said only granting concessions would not help. He pointed out that IT companies needed a huge talent pool, which included both local talent and those coming from outside, an eco-system that included physical infrastructure, electronic connectivity and assured electricity supply. The average age profile of those in the sector was young, and they needed malls, multiplexes and nightlife to relax, apart from quality educational institutions for their children.

Thus, these cities which were to be developed as IT hubs needed an enabling eco-system, Ghaisas said. “Pune grew as an IT hub due to the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the nightlife and malls in the city. Because of this, people are willing to go there. This is because those in the sector need that kind of a lifestyle… it is necessary to build an eco-system, and just concessions will not help.”

As per the economic survey of Maharashtra 2021-22, a total of 564 private IT parks with proposed investments of ₹1,03,793 crore have been approved. Of these, 205 IT parks are functioning with an investment of ₹37,727 crore and about 8.06 lakh jobs up to November 2021. Most of these parks are located in Pune (199) followed by Mumbai (179) and Thane (170). The other parts of the state have negligible presence like Nagpur and Nashik (5 each), Aurangabad (4), and Wardha and Raigad (1 each).