Karnataka, the first State that came out with an exclusive policy for the Information Technology industry back in 1997, has come up with a new five-year policy with a focus on driving tech growth and creating jobs beyond Bengaluru.
Deputy Chief Minister and IT/BT Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan told The Hindu that the IT Policy 2020-2025, cleared by the Cabinet on Thursday, will harness the State’s potential and create over 60 lakh IT and IT-related jobs by 2025.
“Companies that are willing to relocate or set up businesses in tier II and III locations will receive attractive incentives, including free office space, power, and other facilities. Compared to earlier policies, this is a long-term one and specially focused on rapid growth and employment creation,” he said.
IT contribution
Through this policy, the State hopes to enable its IT industry to contribute over 30% to India’s goal of reaching a trillion-dollar digital economy.
“Our earlier IT policies never had this specific and outcome-based focus and that also makes this policy different,” the Minister said.
The new framework will also support a special incentives scheme for the ESDM industry. An investment of over ₹5,000 crore is expected to come to the State through this scheme. Plans are also afoot to set up a State Cyber Security Policy to employ the necessary data protection safeguards and sustain a safe and resilient ecosystem.
On the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, Mr. Aswath Narayan said, “We don’t expect its impact to continue much longer. Our focus is to develop quality infrastructure outside Bengaluru and encourage entrepreneurs to go out and set up businesses so that a large population of Kannadigas can work from their home as per the new culture brought on by the pandemic.”