The State government is actively working on the setting up of Biosciences Hub (B-Hub) with essential focus on life sciences sector on the lines of the T-Hub as it has the potential to grow significantly in the coming days.
The development follows the government’s resolve to double the industry size from the existing $50 billion to 100 billion in the coming 10 years. The city is already in the forefront as the bulk drug capital of the country providing 33% of the vaccines consumed internationally, Industries and IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao said.
Discussions were held with major players like Kiran Mazumdar Shah of Biocon and she was convinced to make investments in life sciences segments in the State, he said while participating in a short discussion on “progress of industries and IT sectors in the State” in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.
He said given the State’s condition as landlocked area, the government focused on 14 core sectors including IT, electronics, defence and aerospace, textiles, food processing and gems & jewellery and attracting some of the major names in these sectors.
“The top five most valued technology firms – Micrososft, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google have their large bases in the city. The State overtook Bengaluru for two consecutive quarters in terms of office space absorption. IT exports which were pegged at ₹57,228 crore at the time of formation of the State reached ₹1.45 lakh crore at present,” he said. This was because of the commitment of the government to promote industry in a transparent manner for creating employment.
Responding to a suggestion on reservations for locals in private sector, he said the move proved counter productive as could be seen from experiences in some States. “One State enacted legislation and a company is prepared to shift its base from there. We are in negotiations with the firm for setting up its base here,” he said.
The State government was however providing additional incentives to companies which were employing locals like providing additional capital subsidy and sales tax exemption of 5% each for employing 70% locals. The government would also bring out a legislation to curb cyber crime which was on the rise following the advent of IT into daily lives. The draft of the legislation was being prepared in association with the NALSAR law university and it would be a reality soon, he said.
Advising the opposition politics not to indulge in politics at the expense of the State’s interests, he said Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao could only think because the State not only competes with other States, but also internationally in attracting investments for generating employment. “There is no choice but to think on scale in the competitive environment,” he said.
Steps had also been taken to expand IT sector to Tier-II cities and the government was committed to create 50,000 jobs in the Tier-II cities in the next five years. The government, he said, introduced TS-iPASS, the single window clearance for industries and could attract 17,302 firms with an investment of ₹2.2 lakh crore in the last seven years. “More than 13,000 units are already operational. The government succeeded in creating 19 lakh direct jobs in the last seven years,” he averred.
