Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday invited investors to set up Information Technology units at a lower cost in Naya Raipur. He was addressing the prominent IT investors in Mumbai. In the programme organised by National Association of Software Services Company (NASSCOM), Singh said that Chhattisgarh — the 26th State of the country, which was formed nearly 14 years back, has created its identity as 'Credible Chhattisgarh' in the field of development.
He said that the State Government is committed to develop IT sector in Chhattisgarh in the best possible manner. In the programme, the Chief Minister gave a Power Point presentation before many prominent investors of the country. It is noteworthy that 30 big IT companies of India are the members of NASSCOM. After viewing the presentation made by Singh, the entrepreneurs showed keen interest for capital investment in Chhattisgarh.
Singh mentioned in his presentation that as a gateway to Central India, Chhattisgarh has immense scope of capital investment in various IT industries. The Chief Minister quoted the seven significant reasons for investment in IT sector of Chhattisgarh. Singh said that as per a study conducted by Planning Commission in year 2012, Chhattisgarh is amongst the top states for 'Ease of Doing Business'. CHiPS serves as the 'Single Point of Contact' for providing seamless interface, he said.
Besides, the central location of the State, peaceful environment, availability of skilled human resources, efficient policy that encourages investment, Naya Raipur emerging as India's first Smart City and Green City, good governance are the main features that have created a favourable environment for investment in IT sector. In Chhattisgarh, no pre-approvals are required for commencing business.
Chief Minister said that for the entrepreneurs interested in IT and ITe sector, the State Government especially provides single point contact facility for all kinds of facilities. The major reason that makes Chhattisgarh a suitable destination for investment is its central and peaceful location accessible from major metros. Chhattisgarh has direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhubhaneshwar, Indore and Nagpur and regular flights to Bengaluru, Chennai and Vishakhapatnam, he said.
Moreover, it has direct trains to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bangalore and Vishakhapatnam, Singh said. Chhattisgarh being the Gateway to Central India, it has the potential to serve nearly 50 per cent of Indian population. Market size of INR 1,50,000 crore can be developed in the bordering seven states of Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh is well-connected through 12 National Highways- road network of 35,411 km, he said.
Availability of strong human resource is also a favourable aspect of Chhattisgarh for investment. Chhattisgarh has excellent education ecosystem with educational institutions like Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), National law University that churns out around 30,000 professionals every year, Singh said.
It is a State with strong work ethics in local populace. More than 1.80 lakh youth have been trained so far under skill development scheme. Chhattisgarh is a peace-loving State of hardworking and honest people. The State also has low crime rate, as compared to other metro-cities of the country, he said.
The Chief Minister also gave detailed information about State government's new Five-Year Police 2014-2019 for Electronics and IT sector. He said that on the lines of 'Make in India', the concept of 'Make in Chhattisgarh' has been envisioned and accordingly, amendments have been made in the State government's IT and ITe policy. Under the new IT and ITe policy, attractive provisions have been made to encourage investment in the sector.
In the NASSCOM programme, Chief Minister said that State Government has earmarked special area of around 80 sq kms in Naya Raipur for investment in IT Sector. This includes 70 acres of land, on which electronic manufacturing cluster (EMC) will be developed with capital investment tuning to Rs500 crore.
The Central Government has also approved the EMC project. In the programme, Principal Secretary of Chhattisgarh Government (Electronics and Information Technology Department) Aman Kuma Singh, Mineral Resources Department Secretary Subodh Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary of Chief Minister Rajat Kumar and officials of Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) were also present.