Odisha – The Destination Next For India’s Electronics and Information Technology Investments

Bhubaneswar: Keeping pace with the changing times, Odisha today has become a preferred destination for the Electronics and Information Technology industry in the country. Its investor friendly policies and a proactive government machinery have become the main propellers for attracting investments to the state. The Government of Odisha came up with a new Information Technology Policy this year that guarantees the investors a good value for their investments.

Under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Government of Odisha has created an environment where there is only a win-win proposition for all.

The Odisha IT Policy 2022 wants to transform Odisha into a leading destination for IT investments in India in the coming days. With an aim to creating employment opportunities for the state’s talent pool and bringing in inclusive economic growth, the policy aims to transform Odisha into the destination next for new age technologies.

Odisha’s IT Policy has some of the best incentives for the investors in the form of tax relaxations, interest subventions, capital subsidy and other reimbursements industry specific investments that have no match in many other states.

Highlights of the New IT Policy:

The state government has offered industry specific incentives for IT parks. It has also announced 25 percent of fixed capital investment will be provided as capital subsidy limited to Rs 20 crores. Greenfield IT Parks will be eligible for 100 percent reimbursement of stamp duty/registration fee/conversion fee.

Similarly, the IT Policy has a provision of subsidy of 30 percent of the fixed capital investment in buildings and infrastructure, excluding the cost of land subject to a maximum of Rs 3 crore will be given to eligible IT units.

In order to attract new age technologies, the Government also will incentivise Companies/Units investing in the area of Artificial Intelligence (Al), Cyber Security, Extended Reality (XR), Automation, Blockchain, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (loT), Machine Learning (ML), Clean-tech, Edu-tech, Agri-Tech, Health-tech and other emerging technologies with additional concessions. The eligible IT units will be entitled to get an interest subsidy at 5% per annum on term loans availed from recognised financial institutions and banks, subject to a ceiling of maximum Rs 10 crore per year for a period of five years from the date of commencement of commercial operation.

The state government has also exempted electricity duty and electrical inspection fee for five years. There will be reimbursement of electricity tariff at 30% for three years capped at Rs 35 lakh per unit. IT units with up to 40 employees will get subsidies on the rental of incubation space for a maximum of three years based on their incubation space. The IT Policy calls for reimbursement up to Rs 1400 per seat per month for co-working space in designated IT Parks and Incubation Centers approved by the Government and Rs 1000 per seat per month in notified private IT Park/lT Space has been allowed. Eligible IT units hiring buildings on rent for operating their centres will be entitled for a subsidy of 75% of the actual rent paid or Rs 20 per sq ft per month whichever is lower. An additional 25% lease rental limited to Rs 5 lakh per annum will be provided to women, SC-ST and entrepreneurs with disability.

Reimbursement of 100% state component of GST (SGST) for a period of five years in Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) area and for a period of seven years in non-BDA area subject to 100% of their fixed capital investment has been allowed under the policy.

In order to encourage employment of local people, recruitment assistance will be provided at Rs 10,000 per newly recruited employee at executive level who are domiciles of Odisha with a maximum limit of Rs 10 lakh per unit for a period of three years. There is also a provision of additional Rs 1000 per employing women, SC/ST and physically challenged employees. An assistance of Rs 20 lakh for establishment and maintenance of Biju Innovation Lab will be provided for five years. In order to promote Centre of Excellence (CoE) in engineering colleges and educational institutes in Odisha, various incentives will be provided in the form of marketing assistance, quality certification, patent registration, bandwidth connectivity assistance, interest and investment subsidy.

While the new IT Policy has been making waves in the industry circles for its attractiveness, some big ticket investments have already lined up in the state. Adani Group has got the Single Window Clearance of the Government of Odisha to set up a Data Center in Khordha District with an investment of Rs 500 crores.

Some of the biggest names in the world of Electronics and IT, and Financial verticals IBM and Deloitte, are on the final stages of setting up their advanced Development Centres in Odisha soon.

5T Secretary VK Pandian, who has been tirelessly working to transform the governance system and make Odisha the ideal destination for investments, has been reviewing the development of IT Infrastructure regularly. The most modern and ambitious project taken up by the Government – the O Hub project is one of its kind in the country. O-hub, a flagship initiative of Odisha Government, is the state-supported incubation hub located in the Special Economic Zone, Patia Bhubaneswar. It offers 1,50,000 square feet area with a state-of-the-art facility, plug-n-play infrastructure to support start-up activities within the state. O-hub will facilitate 200 start-ups every year in diverse sectors like Healthcare, Renewable Energy, ICT, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, Handlooms and handicrafts, Agri-tech and many more.

The impact of 5T Initiatives is also visible on the ground. Odisha has been rapidly moving up in the development ladder and is being recognized as an important player in the field of Information Technology. Recently, the Electronics and Information Technology Department won the e-Governance Analytics Championship Award at the 32nd Tech Sabha 2022. This is in recognition to the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the Odisha Government’s endeavor to provide seamless citizen-centric services and aspiring to improve it further. In another achievement, Odisha has been felicitated at the ET Digitech’22 Conclave for best implementation of National Food Security Act. It felicitated states for best practices in good governance and digital service delivery.

Odisha is on the way to become the lead destination for the IT and Electronics sector very soon. The new IT Policy of 2022 is a result of detailed consultations with all stakeholders. It will become a benchmark for other too. Guided by the 5T Initiatives, the IT revolution will take the state’s economy to new heights and on the same time transform the lives of the people of Odisha through e-Governance and Digital interventions.