The state IT (information and technology) department has urged the Centre to grant six new STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) units to the state.
Pranab Prakash Das, the state IT and Energy minister, today called on the Union minister for Communications & Information Technology and Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad at New Delhi and raised this demand.
The six locations suggested for establishment of new STPI units are Jajpur, Sambalpur, Jeypur, Angul, Rayagada and Kalahandi. At present, there are four STPI centres in the state at Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Rourkela and Balasore. Similarly, the IT minister also requested the Union minister to accord approval to the proposal of setting up a ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) in Odisha. The DPR (detailed project report) for the ITIR was cleared by the high power committee of Government of India which is to be developed on an area of 10,210 acres of land with an investment of Rs 3,700 crore.
Out of the total land, there will be a processing area of 4,300 acres, which will house IT/ITes (enabled services), electronics hardware manufacturing (EHM) and research and development (R & D) centers. Similar ITIRs are also planned in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, which have already received the Centre’s nod. The Centre has recently accorded in principle approval for setting up of an Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) under the EMCs scheme in the state. The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (Deity) has sanctioned Rs 96.96 crore grant for this cluster to be developed on 215.76 acres of land.
Das also requested Prasad to initiate steps for establishment of Taiwan Electronic Townships at Info- Valley in Bhubaneswar by considering the proposal of the state government.
