Subhechcha Ganguly 
On his 77th birthday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Client Innovation Centre of IBM at O-Hub, reinforcing the unstoppable growth story of the IT ecosystem in the state. IBM’s centre would have an initial capacity to accommodate 500 people. The new centre is also slated to position Odisha as the technology resource hub of the country. But the state’s IT innovation journey doesn’t pause here. Over and above IBM, other IT giants like Accenture, Concentrix and Happiest Minds Technologies have pledged to set up their development centres in Bhubaneswar, the numero uno Smart City and now fast emerging as the country’s Next-Gen IT capital.
The rush of IT investors is the culmination of an investment overdrive led by the Chief Minister and his entourage of officials. In the countdown to the ensuing Make in Odisha event later this year, Team Odisha officials have been staging feverish roadshows at major cities across the country to elicit the interest of investors.
In Bangalore, for example, the roadshows have evoked tremendous responses from the captains of the IT industry. To quote Mr Manoj Mishra, Secretary (Electronics & IT), Odisha, the IT players have heaped the praise on Odisha for its congenial ICT policy, and dedicated policies for electronics manufacturing and BPO. Introduced in 2021, the Odisha Electronics Policy 2021 has the best available incentives for investments in the Electronics and Electronics System Design and Manufacturing sectors. This promotes Odisha as an attractive destination for the electronics industry as well as promotes electronics manufacturing in the state by offering a congenial, proactive industrial, and industry-friendly climate with leading infrastructure, policy initiatives, and supporting facilities.
The state has unveiled a New ICT Policy 2022 with a vision to transform Odisha into a leading destination of investment for IT. The policy has specific incentives for IT parks. 25 per cent of fixed capital investment will be provided as capital subsidy limited to Rs 20 crore. Greenfield IT parks will be eligible for 100% reimbursement of stamp duty, registration fees and conversion fees. That apart, eligible IT units will be entitled to get an interest subsidy at 5 per cent per annum on term loans availed from recognized financial institutions and banks, subject to a maximum of Rs 10 crore per year for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial operation. The policy also mandates reimbursement up to Rs 1,400 per seat per month for co-working space in designated IT Parks & Incubation Centers approved by Government and Rs 1000 per seat per month in notified private IT Park/IT Space. On top of it, there is the provision of reimbursement of 100 per cent state component of GST (SGST) for a period of 5 years in the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Area and for a period of 7 years in non-BDA Area subject to 100 per cent of their fixed capital investment. To add, there are additional incentives for Companies/units investing in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cyber Security, Extended Reality (XR), Automation, Blockchain, Big Data, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), Clean-tech, Edu-tech, Agri-Tech, Health-tech and other emerging technologies.
Odisha is among the select IT hubs in the country where the Big Four IT vendors – TCS, Infosys, Wipro & Tech Mahindra were quick to set up their development centres. It also boasts of the presence of multiple small to mid-scale IT companies and homegrown entities- Capgemini, MindTree, CSM Tech, Tatwa etc.
In terms of state-of-the-art IT infrastructure, Odisha is second to none. The state has developed Infovalley- spread on 660 acres of land on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar to attract investors. Moreover, there is Plug and play Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) straddling 216 acres of land which has received investments of Rs 914 crore from 7 land allotees with employment potential for 4603 people. The electronics park has the potential to generate employment for around 10,000.
The state has four STPI centres operative at Bhubaneswar, Berhampur, Rourkela and Balasore, housing more than 250 IT/ ITeS companies. Four new STPI centres are coming up at Angul, Jajpur, Sambalpur and Jeypore to promote tech startup ecosystem in the state. IT Exports from Odisha stood at Rs 2,566 crore in 2021-22.
The state has a bustling Start-up & Incubation Ecosystem. O-Hub is designed as Odisha’s maiden, centralized Incubator, wholly owned and operated by State Government. It provides services such as Services such as Mentorship, Investment facilitation, Business Development, Co-working Space, Modular Manufacturing etc.
Odisha has been recognized as the Top Performer in State/UT Start-up Ranking 2021 in developing a strong start-up ecosystem in the state. The 1,320 startups in Odisha have generated more than 10,000 employments. A total of 23 academic incubators were handholding the startups.
