Karnataka extends CeBIT-tinted bouquet to sulking IT/BT firms

Reassuring captains of the information and biotechnology industries on Wednesday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the state government will not be found lagging in providing necessary infrastructure for industrial growth and expansion.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Karnataka government’s flagship IT/ITeS event Bangalore ITE.Biz, Siddaramaiah said that the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) Project proposed to be developed near Devanahalli in Bengaluru on 10,500 acres is in the planning stages. 

When completed, the ITIR is expected to bring in investments of over $20 billion, creating 1.2 million direct jobs and 2.8 million indirect jobs. Annual revenue generation is expected to be over $40 billion as per estimates. “Hudco (Housing and Urban Development Corporation) has decided to provide Rs 1,000 crore in loans for the development of this region,” Siddaramaiah said.

Noting that Karnataka has taken an early lead by announcing several proactive industry measures, Siddaramaiah said, “The Karnataka i-4 (Information Technology, Information Technology-enabled Services, Innovation and Incentives) policy is the latest among the policy initiatives for the development of the IT sector.” 

The i-4 policy aims at giving a boost to the growth of IT, particularly in the Tier-II and Tier-III cities of the State. The event, conducted in partnership with global  IT and ICT event brand CeBIT India, has laid focus on the theme — ‘New Perspectives in IT Business and Ideas for Digital India’, and is stressing on making the State a top global IT destination.

The three-day event will bring together IT majors, innovators and technologists together on a common forum. The CeBIT Global Conference programme at CeBIT India will see a symposium of delegates discussing and debating on leading topics including social media marketing, connected cars, cloud computing for MSMEs, and IT as a key lever for success.

Meanwhile, Karnataka has contributed IT exports of about Rs 1.80 lakh crore during the financial year 2013-14. Of the 30 lakh software professionals directly employed by the IT sector in the country, over 10 lakh staff are employed in Karnataka alone. Also, the contribution of IT to the State’s GDP is over 20 per cent.    

IT Secretary Government of Karnataka Srivatsa Krishna compared IT exports, investments and job creation figures of Karnataka with Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, and said, "Our competition is outside India, it’s only with Silicon Valley of United States."