Hyderabad: The state government proposes to put Information Technology on a faster track, aiming to get a third place for the state in the country’s IT sector in next two years.
Chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy told media that from eight per cent growth of the total IT exports during the previous regime, the efforts put in by Congress government had resulted in taking the figure to 14 per cent in last three years. “The state would have made greater progress in this sector if the former Union communication minister Dayanidhi Maran had not prevented us,” he said.
Elaborating on the comment on Maran, Reddy said, “It was a fact that certain companies which should have selected Andhra Pradesh as its destination have been diverted to Tamil Nadu, but then it is all part of the game. As a central minister from that state, he perhaps did so.”
Replying to a question, Reddy said the government was closely monitoring the employment potential created by the IT companies. They had promised to create a particular percentage of employment and they have to fulfil their promise, he said. According to the CM, the special training programmes taken up by the government to improve written and oral communication skills of students in government and aided colleges have started paying dividends. Several IT companies have recruited many of these students through campus recruitment and they are now drawing a salary of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum.
Asked how the government proposes to implement its decision of providing 10 per cent concession to the proposed special economic zones (SEZs), the chief minister said he was confident that the SEZ developers would agree to this proposal. But in addition to this, the government is also planning to set up exclusive SEZs for small and medium enterprises. The focus has so far been on major IT companies. Compared to the entry of 32 companies during TDP regime, in last three years alone, 42 new companies had opened their offices in the state, the CM said. “Now the government wants to give a boost to small and medium enterprises,” he said.
Asked if the government proposes to amend the policy and reclaim the land if a unit closes down, the chief minister said so far no such complaint had come to its notice but the government would now consider such a proposal. He said land is scarce and under no situation would it allow the IT companies to get into real estate business.
Courtesy: TimesOfIndia
