Rama Krishna Sangem
Newest State of Telangana this year achieved a miracle in the IT (Information Technology) sector. Even without the ambitious ITIR (IT Investment Region) project proposed by the previous UPA government, the State has almost touched growth milestone of Rs 2 lakh crore iT exports – Rs 1.83 lakh cr in 2021-22. This is a whisker less than the now dropped ITIR’s target of Rs 2 lakh cr, set for 2035, by the then Congress led Centre.
Expressing his joy over this phenomenal performance of his department, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) on June 1, said: “We have almost crossed the unsanctioned ITIR’s target almost 13 years before. He was unveiling an annual report of IT department of Telangana, on the eve of the State’s 8th formation day on June 2, Thursday. The IT exports volume in 2022-23 is sure to cross the Rs 2 lakh cr.
What gave satisfaction to KTR was the fact that most of the global giants like Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft have not only doing well in Hyderabad, but also unveiled plans to expand their activities here. This shows the happy mood of these global giants to be in Hyderabad, and Telangana. Besides, hundreds other software and IT firms are lining up to Telangana, thanks to a pro-business ecosystem in place here.
The volume of IT exports of Telangana stood at Rs 1,45,522 crore in 2020-21. This went up to Rs 1,83,569 crore this year, marking a growth rate of 26.14 per cent. This much more than the national average of 17.2 per cent growth in IT exports during this period. We should remember that the IT exports at the time of Telangana formation in 2014 were around Rs 53,258 crore.
Almost four fold growth in the sector wouldn’t have been possible without a proactive and business friendly political leadership in Telangana. Entire Hyderabad city and its surrounding areas were included in ITIR proposed by the Congress led UPA government months before bifurcation of combined AP. However, Narendrda Modi led BJP government whcih came to power in 2014 put this ITIR project, first, in cold shortage, and then, dropped it altogether.
KTR and his team led by Principal IT and Industries Secretary Jayesh Ranjan were brimming with confidence that the future of IT sector is bright in Telangana. They gave some more news – that T-HUB’s second phase would be launched on June 30, fiber cable line for another 5,000 km would be laid soon, up from the present 17,328 km line, and promotion of IT parks in tier -2 and 3 cities and towns in Telangana.
Now Hyderabad in particular and Telangana as a whole is home for about 7.78 lakh IT employees, up from 3,23 lakh from the time when the State was formed eight years ago.
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