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Jaya Jagannath,
Orissa has recoded a 39.04
percent growth in software exports in 2008-09. In value terms the
software exports from the state reached Rs 1168 crore as against Rs
840 crore in 2007-08. This growth is achieved in the backdrop of
global economic meltdown which began from the second half of 2008-09
and had impacted the operations of the software service providers.
The state’s growth rate of 39.04 percent in software exports is
higher than the national average of 21 percent.
Despite the economic slowdown and its significant impact on the IT
sector, Orissa has achieved software exports worth Rs 1168 crore in
2008-09. Apart from Orissa, Kerala and Gujarat are the other two
states which have crossed Rs 1,000 crore in terms of software
exports. The software exports from the state are projected at $1
billion (around Rs 5,000 crore) by the end of 2012-13. While Infosys
Technologies was the biggest software exporter from the state
accounting for more than 70 percent of the total exports in 2008-09,
Mahindra Satyam (formerly Satyam Computer Services) was the second
largest exporter at Rs 191 crore. Software exports from Orissa which
started with Rs 5 crore in 1997-98 have reached Rs 1,168 crore in
2008-09. Similarly, the number of IT units in the state registered
under the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme has gone
up from 29 in 2001-02 to 112 in 2008-09.
Orissa has got approvals for four IT SEZs (Special Economic Zones)
out of which two have been notified- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Kalinga Park spread over 45 acres and the DLF Infopark on a 54-acre
plot. Out of the two notified IT SEZs in Orissa, the TCS Kalinga
Park has been operational and the software major, which started
operations from January this year, has exported software services
worth Rs 6 core by the end of 2008-09. The other IT SEZ being
developed by DLF is on the verge of being de-notified. DLF had
sought de-notification of the IT SEZ and it has got in-principle
approval from the Centre for the de-notification. “DLF would now
develop the Infopark project under the STPI scheme. While 50 percent
of the total land area of 54 acres would be devoted to the IT park,
the remaining 50 percent would be earmarked for commercial real
estate like malls, hotels and service apartments”, said Mohapatra.
The Orissa government was also going ahead with the Infocity-II
project which is being developed on over 600 acres of land at Janla,
about 15 km from the city.
“The Infocity-II project is expected to be fully operational within
four years. The state government has made a budgetary allocation of
Rs 150 crore for developing external infrastructure for the project
like roads, water and electricity, added Mohapatra. Asked on the
status of the other IT projects in the state, he said, “The IT
investors like MindTree Consulting, Genpact Limited and Zensar
Technologies were going slow on the construction work due to the
prevailing economic downturn. The IT industry is in a recovery phase
and we expect these IT players to resume construction work soon.”
Regards
Team Nilachakra
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