The State government has revived the Private Hi-tech and Integrated IT Parks Scheme aimed at bringing in private investments to strengthen IT infrastructure in the State.
Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of a function held on Thursday to release the logo of Infopark’s 10th anniversary celebrations, Minister for IT P.K. Kunhalikutty said a slew of benefits such as quick clearance of projects through a single window system would be extended under the scheme.
“Benefits, however, would be strictly linked to employment generation. No land would be handed over under the scheme but the investments would be treated as made for public purpose,” he said.
He said Infopark had registered an impressive growth rate of 53 per cent in terms of IT exports during 2013-14 taking the total exports to Rs. 2,350 crore from the previous Rs. 1,534 crore. While admitting that the State still trailed behind Karnataka in IT exports, he said the State was now at least able to compete with its neighbour, which was a good sign. Earlier, he unveiled the logo of Infopark’s 10th anniversary celebrations. Export revenues from Infopark have been increasing steadily from Rs. 750 crore in 2010-11, Rs. 1,095 crore in 2011-12, Rs. 1,534 crore in 2012-13 to Rs. 2,350 crore now.
“The growth rate has accelerated from 38 per cent in 2011-12 to 43 per cent in 2012-13. With more projects nearing completion in phase I and more companies coming forward to invest in phase II, we expect the exports to multiply in the coming years,” said Infopark Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hrishikesh Nair. The United States continued to be the top IT export destination for the companies, followed by South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Germany. Also, there has been a notable growth in exports to Canada and Japan.
Since its inception in 2004, Infopark has created over three million square-feet of work space and intends to double this to six million square-feet over the next couple of years. The park also expects to generate over 10,000 additional jobs during the financial year 2015-16.
