Maharashtra chalks out ways to boost IT sector

It seems software industry in Maharashtra is going through a rough patch. The state was ranked fifth in terms of revenues collected from software exports, lagging behind states such as Karnataka and Hyderabad.

Following this, state IT secretary, Arvind Kumar has unveiled a series of measures taken up by the government to promote the IT sector.

The government is planning a series of policy initiatives to woo corporates to set up their shops in the city, he said. "We have decided to change our mindsets for dealing with the sophisticated IT industry. We are offering free land in tier II cities like Nashik, Aurangabad, and Solapur," said Kumar, speaking at a seminar held by the Computer Society of India.

The efforts are bearing fruit, he said, pointing out that Microsoft and IBM have big plans for the city. "Microsoft would be announcing a $150 million investment in the city for setting up a development centre shortly," he said.

He said the Microsoft campus would be set up outside the Hinjewadi park. The government is also in talks with IBM, he said. "We have told them to let us know their requirements so that we would be able to support them."

Known to be the pioneer for promoting the electronics and industrial export segment at Seepz, way before the export oriented units concept came into effect, the state has lost out to competition from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Noida in New Delhi, which are ahead of Maharashtra in terms of contribution to the software exports of the country.

Speaking about the stiff competition between various states, the minister said the combined export figures of Pune and Mumbai account for just 50 per cent of exports from Bangalore.

"It will only be a matter of time before states like West Bengal, which grew 80 per cent last year and others like Bhubneshwar will over take us,"he said, unless we change our viewpoints and introduce new policy initiatives," he said.