Karnataka to relook at IT policy

Karnataka to relook at IT policy
CIOL India

New IT secretary suggests changes in existing policy
Monday, May 29, 2006
Priya Padmanabhan

BANGALORE: India's leading software exporting state, Karnataka may make some changes in its IT policy which was formulated in 2000. Speaking to CyberMedia News, Dr Anup K Pujari, principal secretary to government, department of IT, biotechnology and science and technology said that he had suggested the need for some changes in the policy in a letter to Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy. “It is more than five years since the millennium IT policy was announced. I have suggested some recommendations including development and policy measures to attract investors to second-tier cities like Hubli,” he said.

He said that the recently held IT investor meet “Destination Hubli,” has triggered a lot of interest among IT companies. “Around 7-8 major companies including IBM, TCS, Satyam, Wipro participated in the meet. Tata Teleservices and Kshema Technologies have offices here and Pune-based Neilsoft is planning to relocate part of its operations to Hubli,” he said.

Pujari added that around 40,000 sq ft out of the total 2.72 lakh sq.ft allocated at the Hubli IT Park had been occupied. In an effort to woo companies to set-up shop in the city, the state government is offering space at the park at a promotional rate of Rs 10 per sq ft for the first 50,000 sq ft of space. The next 15,000 sq. ft would be offered at Rs 15 per sq.ft for the next six months.

Pujari is confident that IT entrepreneurs in tier-two cities like Hassan, Gulbarga and Davangere could spark interest in these cities as well. The state government is encouraging growth in tier-two cities to ease off the development pressure in Bangalore.

Secondary cities like Mysore and Mangalore have begun to show good growth. In 2005, Mysore and Mangalore clocked exports of Rs 392 crore and Rs 570 crore respectively. Hubli which registered Rs 4.92 crore in exports last year, still has a lot of catching up to do.