The State government has accepted the report submitted by the Karnataka Information and Communication Technology Group-2020. Headed by T.V. Mohandas Pai, the group has recommended establishment of IT satellite towns in and around Bangalore, and improving infrastructure in Tier II and III cities to meet the needs of the IT industry.
Minister for Information and Technology S.R. Patil on Saturday said that the government had constituted the group to study and recommend to the government a strategy to be evolved for the comprehensive growth of the IT industry in the State.
Phased implementation
“The government is committed to implementing the recommendation of the group in phased manner,” the Minister said.
Focus on Tier-II cities
The government would accord priority for the development of the IT sector in the Tier-II cities, including Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Shimoga and Gulbarga, besides Bangalore. Incubation centres would be established to help setting up of the new IT-based industries.
Training abroad
In a related move, the State government would send 25 young entrepreneurs abroad every year to undergo training to establish IT companies. “The government will spend Rs. 1 crore on each entrepreneur who will be sent abroad for training,” he added.
Performance lauded
Appreciating the performance of the IT companies in the State at the time of global recession, Mr. Patil said that the total exports of the IT companies had touched Rs. 1.36 lakh crore, which was 36 per cent of the country’s total exports in the IT sector. He said that all support would be extended to the stakeholders of the industry to ensure its further growth, and he added that the exports are likely to touch Rs. 4 lakh crore by 2020.
Minister for Information and Technology S.R. Patil said that the Union government has given its nod for setting up of the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) on 1,500 acres of land between Devanahalli and Doddaballapur. He added that the government had issued the preliminary notification to acquire 2,072 acres in the first phase.
The government was considering offering a portion of the developed area to land owners and the extent would be decided in the next Cabinet meeting.
A sum of Rs. 7,000 crore would be spent on providing basic infrastructure, and rail, road and communication network in the ITIR.
“Once the project is implemented, over 38 lakh people would directly and indirectly be employed. The ITIR would accord priority for hardware production,” he said.
