‘Telangana is Committed to Development of IT Industry’

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“The new infrastructure development that is now taking place in Hyderabad will make the city even more attractive for the IT companies,” says S Narsing Rao, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Telangana.  

For improving the economy of the state, what are the key steps that the government of Telangana is taking?
Improvement of economy is only possible when there is adequate electricity supply for the industry and the people. So the key challenge before us is to further enhance the power generation and distribution systems. Today we are supplying around 5800 megawatt on an average basis, and there is a shortfall of about 1000 megawatt as of now. The growth in demand for power is in the range of 800 to 1000 megawatt per annum. We need to bridge this gap in the current supply of power and the average demand. We also need to enhance capacity so that we are in a position to meet the year on year increase in demand for power. Hence the government of Telangana has laid down the plans for adding at least 10000 megawatts during the next five years time. Such capacity addition will lead to Telangana becoming a power surplus state.

What steps are being taken to improve the urban infrastructure of Hyderabad?
Improvement of the urban infrastructure of Hyderabad is a key priority for our government. It is a major challenge for us, because ultimately it is the well developed urban areas that will give flip to the overall growth in the economy of the state. Many initiatives are being taken by the Government of Telangana to improve the infrastructure of the city. The completion of the outer ring road is a big achievement, and now we are concentrating on the development of various radial roads. Plans are being developed to implement the master plan beyond the GHMC limits. This will lead to growth in investments.

Recently the government of Telangana unveiled its industrial policy. What kind of response are you getting from investors?
Our industrial policy is very attractive for investors who want to set up new industries in the state. In the policy the government of Telangana has identified 14 thrust areas; we have plans to develop six industrial corridors and common infrastructure for various industries among other things. The policy framework also lists sector-specific incentives and steps for the development of hassle-free and transparent environment for the units to set-up and operate. It is the top priority of this government to encourage development of industries in the state. In particular, we are expecting a big push from the manufacturing sector. The three key pillars for developing the state’s economy are reliable power supply, world class urban infrastructure, and industrialisation.

Hyderabad is already well known for its IT industry. What steps are being taken to ensure that the IT industry continues to grow in Telangana?
Telangana is committed to development of IT industry. As a stand alone city, Hyderabad is the second biggest revenue generator for the IT sector in India after Bangalore. The high growth that we see in the IT sector is primarily through export oriented services that the industry is providing. The IT industry is completely market driven. They take their investment decisions on the basis of factors like infrastructure, safety, availability of quality skilled manpower, cost of living, connectivity, etc. The new infrastructure development that is now taking place in Hyderabad will make the city even more attractive for the IT companies. The eco-system for IT companies will become even better, with the improvement in infrastructure. Along with IT, electronics manufacturing is also a priority for us. The infrastructure for electronics manufacturing is already available. Two manufacturing zones already exist in Telangana, these have full infrastructure—roads, electricity, water supply, etc.

What steps are being taken to encourage development of eGovernance in Telangana?
In Telangana, there already exists a deep penetration of eGovernance applications in various areas. The eGovernance systems are also seeing good response from the citizens of the state. Many citizens use their own online systems or the common service centres to avail various government services. The policies and programmes of government of Telangana are oriented in the direction of giving more impetus to eGovernance in the state.

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