Govt to formulate new IT policy

State to set up venture capital fund of Rs 24 crore to boost the sector

The Gujarat government is planning to come out with a new information technology (IT) policy soon to boost the information technology-enabled services (ITES) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the state.

The government is also planning to set up a venture capital fund for the development of IT services and products. This fund will seek support from the national fund for IT venture development as proposed by the National Task Force (NTF). The fund will have a corpus of Rs 24 crore.

"A Nasscom survey of Indian cities has already placed Ahmedabad among the top five ITES destinations in the country. We are an e-governed state. The Gujarat State Wide Area Network (GSWAN) is the largest internet protocol-based network in Asia Pacific," said state chief minister Narendra Modi at the inaugural ceremony of Singapore Airlines flights in Ahmedabad recently.

The state government has set up an independent organisation that would take care of the implementation of IT initiatives. The government has set up Gujarat Informatics Ltd (GIL), a nodal agency for the government to implement its IT policy.

The single-point agency eliminates all ambiguity and avoids the need for companies to rush from pillar to post for all their activities, the government said.

The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has advised the government to launch an intensive campaign to promote BPO so that it becomes a job-generating industry for the masses and provides a viable, long-term career option for its employees.

"Policy decisions should be taken so that BPO-specific educational courses are launched in public and private institutions across the country. There is a need for greater sensitisation of the government machinery and policy making so that a firm partnership is established between the government and the industry to resolve long-standing infrastructure, legal and taxation issues," said Aparup Sengupta, chairman of Assocham southern and western region BPO steering committee.

Assocham has asked the government for creation of a single-window clearance system for the BPO industry, besides framing a policy package for its sustained growth.

Above all, standards and stringent benchmarks should be established to prevent entry of non-serious players in this industry, since they damage the brand image of India as an outsourcing destination, it was advised.

The chamber has worked out a four-point strategy for sustained growth of the BPO industry, which includes a platform for the BPO players, intra-industry interaction, aggressively highlighting BPO industry to media and systematic co-ordination between different resource industries for BPO players.

Currently, the government is in the process of computerising land records, which will be available at district headquarters to bring transparency. This move is expected to benefit IT companies wishing to set up their own infrastructure in the state.