Burla- Sambalpur-Jharsuguda more ideal to have a Software Technology Parks of India

Orissa breaks into top-10

BHUBANESWAR: In sharp contrast to the gloom shrouding the IT sector due to the severe economic recession across the world including India, Orissa seems to have smiled its way through the 2008-09 fiscal.

Bucking the slowdown impact, the State has surged forward in software and IT services exports posting an overwhelming 39.05 per cent growth over the 2007-08 fiscal. IT exports from the State for the first time crossed Rs 1000 crore to achieve a gross Rs 1168 crore against Rs 840 crore in the preceding year.

Orissa has barged into the elite IT hotspot states and is now ranked 10th in the country in terms of exports, which has surpassed the National average growth of around 21 per cent by miles. Kerala and Gujarat are the only two other states in the Rs 1000 crore plus software exports category to have shown a higher growth rate than Orissa. With this rate of growth, a target of achieving 1 billion dollar or Rs 5,000 crore by 2013 has been fixed for the State.

Giving out the export data, Secretary IT Orissa P.K. Mohapatra today said that even as Orissa cemented its place among the hot IT destination states, work had started on setting up of an IT Investment Region (ITIR) in Bhubaneswar.

Under the initiative, the State Government would identify and provide for 10,000 acres for the exclusive region while the Centre would provide external linkages like road, railway and airport, infrastructure and facilities . The IDCO and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) have conducted a study and zeroed in on the region encompassing Infocity-1 and Infocity-2.

The report would be submitted to the State Government soon.

Mohapatra also said that there was a deliberate effort to develop Tier-III cities in order to avoid congestion in Bhubaneswar. After Rourkela, the third Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is ready to be unveiled in Berhampur. The fourth one is proposed to be set up at Balasore.

Officer-in-Charge of STPI, Orissa Manas Parida revealed that the State today has 112 IT enterprises registered with STPI. There has been a marked shift in the export trends with IT enabled services (ITES), mainly call centres and back-office operations showing an upward movement. In 2007-08, IT exports accounted for 75 per cent of the turnover and ITES 25 per cent but in 2008-09, IT exports have slipped to 70 per cent with ITES gaining five per cent.

There has also been a gradual shift of business opportunities from being overtly US-centric to other emerging markets across the world. In 2007-08,US accounted for 77 per cent of exports but in the succeeding year, its share has come down to 70 per cent. Europe, Middle East, South Africa, Japan and other Asian countries are vying for IT products and services churned here.

NOTE: Its good inititiative to have STPI coming over Rourkela, Berhampur and Balasore. But Burla-Samablpur-Jharsuguda should more ideal to have one STPI.