STPI loses 1,000 units after I-T benefits withdrawn

Chennai:
Software technology park of India (STPI) has lost 1,000 units after income tax benefits were withdrawn from 2011, according to STPI director general Omkar Rai.

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the 12th edition of Connect, which is organized by Confederation of Indian Industry here on Tuesday, Rai said the withdrawal of tax benefits has resulted in 1,000 companies withdrawing their registration from STPI. He said currently there are 4,000 STPI units registered with STPI.

He said that now 200 small and medium units have registered with STPI and we are expecting more to register with the National Policy on Information Technology 2012 trying to provide incentives.

The focus of STPI is to reach out to Tier-II and Tier-III cities so that larger corporations can be part of the development. “The focus is also to create an eco system for entrepreneurship and IT development,” said Rai.

He said the one of the objectives of the newly approved National Policy on Electronics (NPE) along with the IT policy is to achieve a turnover of about $400 Billion by 2020 involving investment of about $100 Billion and employment to around 28 million. In a bid to promote electronics sector and reduce imports, the government is focusing on setting up a semiconductor wafer fab in the country. “The focus is more on the product side now,” he added.

Rai said the exports from STPI  in the last financial year was 2.26 lakh crore and IT exports is growing at the rate of five per cent. He said overall the IT exports is growing at the rate of 10 per cent. STPI has a presence in 53 cities across the country.