Telangana Information Technology and Panchayat Raj Minister K.T. Rama Rao has said that the aim of his Government was to drag the preeminent position of Bengaluru in software industry and bring it to Hyderabad.
Noting that the `first mover' advantage in the industry was lost to Bengaluru due to failures of previous governments, Mr. Rao said that the present regime here was focussed on making Hyderabad number one destination of the country in IT sector.
He said at a meet-the-press programme organised by Press Club, Hyderabad, that a huge expansion of IT sector was proposed in Hyderabad whose exports in 2014 were of the order of Rs.57,000 crore, next only to Bengaluru. The goal was to increase exports to Rs.1.20 lakh in collaboration with major companies abroad. The Government would also tap the potential of low-cost and high-value human resource available in Hyderabad by encouraging them to set up startups.
The Telangana Government will start a technology incubator within a fortnight when Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will spell out the incentives.
The Minister maintained that the biggest takeaway from his recent US tour was that he succeeded in building confidence of IT industry in Hyderabad as an emerging market. The Government established direct contact with honchos in Silicon Valley. They agreed to participate in IT Hub to be set up in Hyderabad. A separate zone for micro, small and medium enterprises will also be set up over seven acres at Gachibowli.