Chief Minister Raman Singh will address, the Indian Electronics and Semiconductors Association (IESA) Vision Summit - 2015 to be organised in Bengaluru on February 3. Singh will address the Summit as the chief guest and will inform the delegates about the new electronics and Information Technology (IT) policy of the Chhattisgarh Government.
The Summit is being organised in spirit with the ‘Make in India’ concept of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chhattisgarh is a partner State in the summit. It is worth mentioning that the Chhattisgarh Cabinet in its meeting chaired by Raman Singh on January 28, 2015 had approved the new policy framed for electronics, IT and IT enabled services.
A number of senior officers of the Information Technology Department of the Government of India and different States will participate in the summit. Singh had left for New Delhi where he will participate in the Surajkund Mela and thereafter leave for Bengaluru on February 2 to participate in the Vision Summit -2015. He will attend a local programme in Bengaluru and address the Vision Summit 2015 on February 3, the officials added.
It may be recalled that the Chhattisgarh Government has now included electronics manufacturing also under its IT/ITeS Policy. This has been done as per the vision of the Prime Minister on ‘Make in India’ initiative for which the State Government has envisioned ‘Make in Chhattisgarh’ campaign, officials stated.
Currently, the State has a suitable eco-system for electronics/IT/ITeS industry with key parameters of physical and social infrastructure, air and telecom connectivity, responsive electronic, IT/ITeS Policy and CHiPS as single point of contact (Ease of doing business), they stated. The revised industrial policy has already been approved in the last Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet decision to approve the new electronics, IT/ITeS Policy pould keep the focus on electronics, IT/ITeS as income and employment generator. The policy focus is on IT developers, IT development units, electronic manufacturing unit, data centre, etc. Moreover, host of incentives like interest subsidy, capital subsidy, subsidy on land premium, etc will be provided to new units coming up in the State.
Interest aubsidy which was 75 per cent of the interest paid, maximum upto 60 lakh per year for 7 years, has been upgraded to 75 per cent of the interest paid , maximum upto Rs1.1 crore per year for 8 years. Capital investment subsidy which was 45 per cent, maximum Rs1.4 crore has been revised to 50 per cent, maximum upto Rs1.5 crore. Subsidy on land premium uptill 80 per cent will be provided. Further incentives of 5 per cent on capital subsidy. interest subsidy and on land premium would be provided to units employing more than 50 per cent workforce of Chhattisgarh domicile, or starting production within year 2015-16.
Keeping the requirements of small and medium enterprise in mind, the policy provides incentives such as 50 per cent subsidy on lease rent, reimbursement of training cost of IT professionals upto Rs20,000 per employee and subsidy upto 30 per cent on Bandwidth charges among others. The policy has been framed keeping the requirements of electronics, IT/ITeS industry, and is the most competitive policy amongst States of India.
The Chief Minister in the Cabinet meeting had stated that the Cabinet has passed the electronics, IT and ITeS investment policy for year 2014-19 and ‘Chhattisgarh Right of Way policy 2015’. There were several changes made in the electronics IT and ITeS. He said that ‘Single Window Clearance’ will be provided. Several incentives will be given like subsidy, capital investment, land premium and electricity charges. There will be subsidy on electricity charges till the end of 12 years.
The investors will be given an additional subsidy of 5 per cent if there are more than 50 per cent employees from the state. The proposed policy is far better than most other states, Singh said. As per the Cabinet decisions, interest subsidy, which was 75 per cent of the interest paid (maximum upto 60 lakh per year for 7 years) has been upgraded to 75 per cent of the interest paid, maximum upto Rs1.1 crore per year for 8 years.
Capital investment subsidy, which was 45 per cent, maximum Rs1.4 crore has been revised to 50 per cent, maximum upto Rs1.5 crore. Subsidy on land premium upto 80 per cent will be provided. Further incentives of 5 per cent on capital subsidy have also been provisioned, he said. Interest subsidy on land premium would be provided to units employing more than 50 per cent workforce of Chhattisgarh domicile, or starting production within year 2015-16.