Lok Sabha Question No. 136 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-02
Subject: Information Technology Hubs
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Ravi Kishan Shukla, Ravindra Kushawaha, Subrata Pathak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS  AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 136

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 02.02.2022

## INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HUBS

## 136. SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI RAVINDRA KUSHWAHA:

SHRI SUBRAT PATHAK:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government is considering to provide impetus to Information Technology Sector to accelerate the growth and help Services Exports to reach $1 trillion at the end of decade and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has set any target regarding its merchandise export for the current fiscal year and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government to achieve the same;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to start Information Technology hubs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns and cities in the country to create jobs and uplift the Services Sector along with the development of the region and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  identified  the  location  for  establishing  such  Information Technology hubs and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details of the funds sanctioned and released for the abovesaid purpose?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a):  Yes,  Sir.  Government  of  India  (GoI)  has  taken  various  initiatives  to  provide  impetus  to Information Technology and Information Technology enabled Services (IT/ ITeS) sector in the country as detailed below:

- i. Software  Technology  Parks  of  India  (STPI),  an  autonomous  society  under  Ministry  of Electronics and Information Technology is implementing Software Technology parks of India (STP) Scheme, which is a 100% export oriented Scheme for the development and export of computer software, including export of professional services using communication links or physical media. The exports by STPI registered IT/ ITeS Units for the year 2020-21 stands at Rs. 5.02 Lakh Crores. The industry is poised to grow to Rs. 6.71 Lakh Crores by 2025-26 at an estimated YoY growth of 6%.
- ii. Special Economic Zones (SEZs): The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect  on  10 th February, 2006, providing for simplification of procedures and for single window clearance on matters relating to central as well as state governments. The main objectives of the SEZ Act are:
3.  generation of additional economic activity
4.  promotion of exports of goods and services
5.  promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources
6.  creation of employment opportunities
7.  development of infrastructure facilities
- iii. GoI  has  approved  National  Policy  on  Software  Products-2019  with  an  aim  to  develop India as the global software product hub, driven by innovation, improved commercialization, sustainable Intellectual property (IP), promoting technology start-ups and specialised skill sets, for development of the sector, based on ICT has been approved. The objective  of  the  policy  is  to  create  a  robust  Indian  Software  Product  development ecosystem  leading  to  ten-fold  increase  in  India  share  of  the  Global  Software  product market and so as to generate direct and in-direct employment for 3.5 million people by 2025.
- iv. Next  Generation  Incubation  Scheme  (NGIS)  has  been  approved  to  support  software product ecosystem and to address a significant portion of National Policy on Software Product (NPSP 2019). It is envisaged to create a vibrant software product ecosystem to complement the robust IT Industry for continued growth, new employment and enhance competitiveness.
- v. Some other initiatives to promote IT sector exports include Future Skills PRIME, Market Development  Initiative  in  Nordics  and  Africa  Region,  Market  Outreach  Initiatives  etc. under Champion Sector Services Scheme.
- vi. Further,  in  order  to  promote  trade  in  services  including  IT  services,  Department  of Commerce follows a multi-pronged strategy which comprises seeking meaningful market access through multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements. Focused efforts are also  being  made  to  address  mobility  issues  being  faced  by  the  service  suppliers  and resolve barriers if any, faced by the exporters and other stakeholders as a part of these agreements.

(b): Yes, Sir. A target of US$ 400 billion for merchandise export for 200 countries and 31 Quick estimates  commodity  groups  has  been  set  by  Department  of  Commerce  for  the  year  2021-22, based on past trend, current scenario and policy dynamics in India and rest of the world. The steps taken by the GoI to achieve the same are as below:

- i. 'Districts  as  Export  Hubs'  (DEH)  Initiative  under  which  products  and  services  with export  potential  have  been  identified  in  all  districts  of  the  country.  An  institutional mechanism has been set up in each District in the form of District Export Promotion Committees  (DEPCs).  The  primary  function  of  the  DEPC  is  to  prepare  and  act  on District Specific Export Action Plans in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders from the Centre, State and District levels;
- ii. A Central  Sector  Scheme  'Transport  and  Marketing  Assistance  (TMA)  for  Specified Agriculture  Products'  for  providing  assistance  for  the  international  component  of freight, to mitigate the freight disadvantage for the export of agriculture products, and marketing of agricultural products, is under implementation.
- iii. Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme is an Export Promotion Scheme envisaged to act as a catalyst to promote India's exports on a sustained basis.
- iv. In  addition, assistance to the exporters of agricultural products is also available under the  Export  Promotion  Schemes  of  Agricultural  &  Processed  Food  Products  Export Development  Authority  (APEDA),  Marine  Products  Export  Development  Authority (MPEDA), Tobacco Board, Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber Board and Spices Board.
- v. Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) is operational from FY 2017-18 with the objective of assisting Central and State Government agencies for creation of appropriate infrastructure for growth of exports.
- vi. The  Government  has  introduced  the  Remission  of  Duties  and  Taxes  on  Exported Products (RoDTEP).  This  scheme  seeks  remission  of  Central, State and Local duties/taxes/levies  at  different  stages  at  the  Central,  State  and  local  level,  which  are incurred  in  the  process  of  manufacture  and  distribution  of  exported  products,  but  are currently not being refunded under any other duty remission scheme.
- vii. Common Digital Platform for Certificate of Origin to facilitate trade and increase FTA utilization by exporters.
- viii. EPCs, Commodity Boards and  India's mission  abroad  are  actively  promoting  India's trade, tourism, technology and investment goals.

(c): STPI has established 62 STPI centres across the country, of which 54 centres are located in Tier II and Tier III cities. State-wise list of existing STPI Centres is at Annexure-I.

To create employment opportunities and dispersal of IT/ITES industry in small cities and towns (excluding  metro  locations),  Government  had  launched  two  BPO  promotion  schemes,  namely India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS) and North East BPO Promotion Scheme (NEBPS). These schemes  aim  to  incentivize  setting  up  of  53,300  seats  BPO/ITES  operations  by  providing financial support up to 1 lakh per seat in the form of viability gap funding. Since the inception of these schemes, around 250 units have set up BPO/ITES operations across 27 States/UTs of the country,  providing  direct  employment  to  over  47,000  persons.  Under  these  schemes,  the disbursements of financial support are on reimbursement basis directly linked with the objective i.e. employment generation by the units.

## (d):  Yes, Sir.  The State-wise list of approved STPI Centres is at Annexure-II .

(e):   The STPI centres are being set-up by STPI from its own internal accruals as per the extant policy of setting-up of new STPI centres, no funds are being sanctioned or released by the Union

Government for this purpose.Till now, financial support of Rs. 80 crores has been disbursed to BPO/ITES units under IPBS and NEBPS schemes.

*******

## State-wise list of existing STPI centres

|   S. N | State             | Centre Name        |
|--------|-------------------|--------------------|
|      1 | Andhra Pradesh    | Kakinada           |
|      2 | Andhra Pradesh    | Tirupati           |
|      3 | Andhra Pradesh    | Vijayawada         |
|      4 | Andhra Pradesh    | Vizag              |
|      5 | Assam             | Guwahati           |
|      6 | Bihar             | Patna              |
|      7 | Chhattisgarh      | Bhilai             |
|      8 | Gujarat           | Gandhinagar        |
|      9 | Gujarat           | Surat              |
|     10 | Haryana           | Gurgaon            |
|     11 | Himachal Pradesh  | Shimla             |
|     12 | Jammu and Kashmir | Jammu              |
|     13 | Jammu and Kashmir | Srinagar           |
|     14 | Jharkhand         | Ranchi             |
|     15 | Jharkhand         | Deoghar            |
|     16 | Karnataka         | Bengaluru          |
|     17 | Karnataka         | Hubli              |
|     18 | Karnataka         | Mangalore          |
|     19 | Karnataka         | Manipal            |
|     20 | Karnataka         | Mysore             |
|     21 | Kerala            | Thiruvananthapuram |
|     22 | Madhya Pradesh    | Gwalior            |
|     23 | Madhya Pradesh    | Bhopal             |
|     24 | Madhya Pradesh    | Indore             |
|     25 | Maharashtra       | Aurangabad         |
|     26 | Maharashtra       | Kolhapur           |
|     27 | Maharashtra       | Nagpur             |
|     28 | Maharashtra       | Nasik              |
|     29 | Maharashtra       | Mumbai             |
|     30 | Maharashtra       | Pune               |
|     31 | Manipur           | Imphal             |
|     32 | Meghalaya         | Shillong           |
|     33 | Mizoram           | Aizawl             |
|     34 | Nagaland          | Kohima             |
|     35 | Odisha            | Berhampur          |
|     36 | Odisha            | Bhubaneswar        |
|     37 | Odisha            | Rourkela           |
|     38 | Pondicherry       | Pondicherry        |
|     39 | Punjab            | Mohali             |
|     40 | Rajasthan         | Jaipur             |
|     41 |                   | Jodhpur            |

## Annexure-I

<!-- image -->

|   S. N | State         | Centre Name   |
|--------|---------------|---------------|
|     42 | Sikkim        | Gangtok       |
|     43 | Tamil Nadu    | Chennai       |
|     44 |               | Coimbatore    |
|     45 |               | Madurai       |
|     46 |               | Tirunelveli   |
|     47 |               | Trichy        |
|     48 | Telangana     | Hyderabad     |
|     49 |               | Warangal      |
|     50 | Uttar Pradesh | Allahabad     |
|     51 |               | Kanpur        |
|     52 |               | Lucknow       |
|     53 |               | Noida         |
|     54 |               | Meerut        |
|     55 | Uttarakhand   | Dehradun      |
|     56 | West Bengal   | Durgapur      |
|     57 |               | Haldia        |
|     58 |               | Kharagpur     |
|     59 |               | Kolkata       |
|     60 |               | Siliguri      |
|     61 | Tripura       | Agartala      |
|     62 | Goa           | Goa           |

List of Upcoming STPI centres

| State          |   S.N | Location   |
|----------------|-------|------------|
| Madhya Pradesh |     1 | Chhindwada |
| Madhya Pradesh |     2 | Jabalpur   |
| Punjab         |     3 | Amritsar   |
| Jharkhand      |     4 | Dhanbad    |
| Jharkhand      |     5 | Jamshedpur |
| Jharkhand      |     6 | Bokaro     |
| Uttar Pradesh  |     7 | Agra       |
| Uttar Pradesh  |     8 | Varanasi   |
| Uttar Pradesh  |     9 | Gorakhpur  |

## Annexure-II

| Kerala            |   10 | Kochi              |
|-------------------|------|--------------------|
| Arunachal Pradesh |   11 | Itanagar           |
| Odisha            |   12 | Balasore           |
| Odisha            |   13 | Sambalpur          |
| Odisha            |   14 | Jajpur             |
| Odisha            |   15 | Angul              |
| Odisha            |   16 | Koraput (Jayepore) |
| Bihar             |   17 | Darbhanga          |
| Bihar             |   18 | Bhagalpur          |
| Haryana           |   29 | Panchkula          |
| Gujarat           |   20 | Bhavnagar          |
| Karnataka         |   21 | Davangere          |
| Himachal Pradesh  |   22 | Kangra             |