TN plans new policy on IT-BPM for next five years

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
In a bid to boost the information technology infrastructure in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and generate jobs in rural Tamil Nadu, the state government is planning to come out with a fresh policy for Information Technology and Business Process Management (BPM) for next five years, according to official sources.

The policy aims to revive the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Policy 2018 as there is a need for a shift in the policy in the post-Covid era with the inclusion of trending technology. The new policy is likely to focus on agritech, tele-medicine, electric vehicles, local businesses with technology and credit markets to revive the rural economy and generate revenue for the state, sources said.

The need for the policy comes as IT-BPM companies are planning to set up units in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. and are facing issues like non-availability of skilled manpower and lack of facilities to skill the students and train the teachers. Apart from this there is non-availability of land or building in well connected localities within the city to set up facilities which are closer to bus stops, railway stations, health centres and other basic infrastructure around it.

The state is one the first to bring in policy for development of business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the rural areas in the year 2010. The policy was revived with an enhanced rural BPO policy in 2012. In order to promote jobs for rural students, the state under ICT Policy - 2018 decided to extend the levels of incentives and subsidies to the companies which are ready to invest in Tier-II and Tier-III cities as well as in rural locations.

For ensuring jobs across the state, the government is looking at providing incentives and subsidies to companies which are ready to invest in Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Tirunelveli and Hosur as well as rural locations. Apart from incentives, the state is also looking at providing 100% stamp duty exemptionfor lease or purchase of land or shed or buildings exclusively for IT-BMP set-up.

The Floor Space Index will also be relaxed to maximum extent of 100% for the designated IT-ITES parks all over the state. The certification will be undertaken by Elcot.

Similarly, one of the major issues in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is non availability of qualified manpower. due to migration to metro cities for better opportunities. To eliminate this issue, the policy covers training programs to ensure the availability of qualified talent. In order to skill the students, the content and curriculum will be enhanced with insights shared by the industry. The training modules are to be developed by firms identified by the purpose by Nasscom, sources said.