Chennai: Even as the growth in information communication technology in the country is projected to reach $118 billion by 2011, Tamil Nadu, already sharing 11% ($5.7 billion) of the current ICT production (FY 2006-07), has unveiled its ambitious ICT policy-2008 for garnering a 25% share in the revenue pie by 2011. The paramount mission of targeting the 25% growth, the policy says, is to generate 30 lakh jobs, with eight lakh direct jobs. This includes a sizeable chunk of 7 lakh jobs in service and 1 lakh jobs in the manufacturing domain of the industry. The policy further envisages an employment potential of 22 lakh indirect jobs.
A slew of measures and reforms, for enhancing the technical skills in campuses in order to meet the burgeoning needs of the industry, will be undertaken and the government plans to set up a task force to develop technical institutes in the state into centres of excellence, says the 20-point ICT vision policy.
It also favours the appointment of industry representatives in the syllabus committee to align the curriculum with the industry demands. The state would further encourage the ICT industry to evolve a standard ICT aptitude test, during the process of recruitment by ICT firms. IT infrastructure, in the form of a computer lab with broadband internet connectivity, will be made available in all high and higher secondary schools by 2011, says the policy.
Laying special emphasis on R&D, the policy, under its talent-nurturing agenda, aims to facilitate the partnership between educational institutes and the industry, in order to identify specific areas of research and provide incentives for students from the state to take up doctoral and post-doctoral research in ICT. Bringing the academia closer to cutting-edge research, the policy spells the governments initiative to encourage industries to set up labs in existing institutes. The policy also offers an array of incentives and allows a capital subsidy of Rs 1.5 crore, for 5 years, on new IT-ITeS. It also aims to invest Rs 200 crore in expansion units and employ more than 400 direct workers. The electricity tax exemption for the same period is granted from the date of commercial production, it adds.
Easing restrictions while subsidising the land transaction cost for ICT companies, the policy would relax the FSI (floor space index) to 100% in the designated IT-ITeS parks and slash 50% of the registration and stamp duty costs in the purchase of land/building for IT-ITeS industries. The highlight of the policy is the governments aim of carrying forward the growth momentum to other cities of the state like Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Tirunelveli, Hosure and Salem.
Addressing the infrastructure impediments that the ICT industry faces, the state, in its policy, intends to implement a host of measures, including the widening of roads, building of flyovers, providing car parking space in all public places, coordinated signaling across junctions, relocating bust terminals and other similar de-congestion interventions. The policy document also incorporates ICT branding, with the bestowing of annual awards for excellence, to be instituted by the government.
