What is Information Technology Investment Regions?

The UPA government in April 2008 cleared a proposal to Information Technology Investment Regions (ITIRs). The Policy was unveiled in the following month. These ITIRs would be endowed with excellent infrastructure and supported through investor-friendly policies.

ITIRs were conceptualized keeping in view the need to boost the growth of both IT/ITES and Electronic Hardware Manufacturing (EHM) Units. These regions would become major magnets for investment creating employment opportunities and economic growth in the area. Apart from AP, TN, Odisha and Karnataka came forward with their ITIR proposals, thus reports http://www.exclventures.com.

As per the Draft Project Report (DPR), ITIR at Hyderabad is anticipated to export IT products worth Rs 2,35,000 crore with additional direct employment to 15 lakh people and indirect employment to 53 lakh people. This is expected to generate about Rs 30,170 crore additional tax revenues to the State Government.

The ITIR project was approved by the then Congress-led UPA government in November 2013 in an area of 202 sq km. Gachibowli and Madhapur, including Mamidipalli, Raviryal, Adibatla and Maheswaram, Uppal and Pocharam were included.

However, the first Telangana State government has changed its plans of setting up of ITIR at four locations in the city. Now it proposes to have ITIR project along the Outer Ring Road as part of Transit Oriental Growth Corridors (TOGC).

The existing plan was not up to the expectations from the companies interested in setting up IT and IT-enabled service centres,” sources said the requirement of land for the ITIR is 50,000 acres but, the availability of land was only 41,000 acres.

The state government estimated that Rs 15,000 crore will be required for development of roads, sewerage, water supply, solid waste and electricity in the regions. The state government was not in a position to bear the financial burden for the development of infrastructure.

Under the present circumstances, the only option before the government to make the ITIR a reality is to redesign the entire project. The MA&UD department identified 13 centres which include IT hardware, knowledge hub, logistic hub, medical hub and aerospace IT hardware centre under the TOGC.

Specific locations for each parks have been identified and the ITIR will also be included in the growth corridor. This will help the government to create required land bank and also help reduce the cost.