The state government wants to ramp up IT exports to bridge
the gap with the country's leading software exporter, Karnataka. It has
prepared a policy that promises several sops for IT and IT-enabled services
(ITES) companies to set up shop in Maharashtra.
The state's annual IT exports are half its southern neighbour's.
An official said Maharashtra's IT policy for 2015 offers an additional 100-200%
FSI and space utilisation to ITITES and AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming
and comics) parks, with a premium recovery of only 10-30%, subject to some
conditions. The policy also offers 20-40% built-up area for support services in
IT parks.
Among the other sops are permission to set up
integrated IT townships, adjustment in property tax of cost put in to develop
roads and civic infrastructure, exemption in stamp duty of up to 100%,
electricity duty exemption for the first 10-15 years, and relief in
entertainment tax for animation film production.
Experts said the policy can attract investments of
about Rs 50,000 crore and add Rs 1 lakh crore in exports for the state. IT
expert Vijay Bhatkar said the state should have taken these steps 5-10 years
ago, a little after the country's first IT park came up in Pune. After the IT
industry's inception in 1998, the growth rate of the software industry was 40-45%,
which has now come down to 12-15%. Of course, recession, immigration problems
and the economic crisis in Europe has affected business.
After the introduction of IT parks in 2001, the state
came up with a policy in 2003, wherein 253 IT parks with a built-up space of
3.90 million square metres obtained letters of intent to set up units. After
six years, when another policy was introduced, nearly 212 parks with a built-up
space of 8.93 million square metres came up in the state. The policies boosted
Maharashtra's IT exports from Rs 5,508 crore (200203) to Rs 55,420 crore
(2013-14), a growth of above 900%.
But these phases also coincided with massive expansions
in Karnataka. Its IT exports, about Rs 12,500 crore in 2002-03, jumped 730% to
reach over Rs 1.03 lakh crore by 2013-14.The latest policy is aimed at catching
up with Karnataka and overtaking it as the country's IT leader, senior state
industries department officials said.
source: TimesofIndia