Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Over the three-past decades, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Bhubaneswar has made a long way and opened new gateways and milestones in the IT exports of the country, churning out of IT professionals, creating employment, boosting Innovation as well as providing the right ecosystem and overall growth of IT sector of the State. STPI-Bhubaneswar which is headed by Shri Manas Panda, Director is relentlessly working for the promotion of the IT Industry under the guidance of Dr Omkar Rai, Director General, STPI who is instrumental in spearheading the success of STPI through many new initiatives pan India. Starting as a regulator for Software Industry and the Incubation service provided to support fledgling start-ups in their entrepreneurial journey, STPIs have trekked a long road to innovation, IPR creation & Product development Today, STPIs don’t function in isolation. They actively partner with Governments, Academia and industry to create groundbreaking innovation ecosystems.
If STPI, Bhubaneswar has caught up with this progressive wave, it’s due to the visionary leadership of DG, STPI, support of Govt. of India & State Government and futuristic thinking of Mr Panda. He has made every effort for the growth of the STPI-Bhubaneswar centre when it comes to evolving. Think what a transformative journey it has been for STPI, Bhubaneswar. For those who don’t know, Bhubaneswar was one of the first three locations where the Government of India set up Software Technology Parks (STPs) in the early 1990s. Later, these STPs were merged to form the STPIs. Beginning its journey from rented premises, STPI Bhubaneswar has moved to a full-fledged campus with many milestones punctuating its journey of excellence. Apart from Bhubaneswar, today STPI has two operational centres in Odisha at Rourkela, Berhampur and the fourth centre at Balasore is ready for operation. With the support of the State Government, STPI is setting up four new centres in Odisha at locations like Angul, Koraput (Jeypore), Jajpur& Sambalpur after which STPI will have eight centres in the State which would be highest in the country.
And, Mr Panda has lived through and realized most part of this enriching journey for which he gives credits to the path-breaking initiatives and leadership of Dr. Omkar Rai, DG, STPI and support of GoI&State Government. He has played an instrumental role in STPI accelerating software exports from Odisha. As per the latest available figures, Odisha exports software valued at Rs 4500 crore, with STPI registered units accounting for a lion’s share of the export pie.
“The Software Technology Parks of India’s (STPI) commercialization and industrialization strategy for startups has created opportunities for budding entrepreneurs, especially during the pandemic times. STPI has generated employment opportunities for over 20,000 people”, Mr Panda says.
Manas Panda, Director, STPI
Beyond the mandate of facilitating exports and employment, STPI has set up an ElectropreneurPark (EP) in Bhubaneswar, the second Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) incubation centre in the country after New Delhi. This ElectropreneurPark is the first such park in Eastern India. The IIIT-Bhubaneswar has joined hands with STPI-Bhubaneswar as the knowledge and academic partner while India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) will be a partner of the park for industry connect, mentoring and outreach.
Not to trail in the steps to promote innovation, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), Government of India has launched the Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) in Bhubaneswar simultaneously with 12 other locations countrywide. NGIS” is a futuristic & comprehensive incubation scheme entrusted by MeitY to STPI for implementation.
NGIS has the vision to promote & support innovative start-ups working towards software product development (including embedded electronics) through a synergized pan-India approach. NGIS focuses on start-ups from 12 Tier-II locations across India viz. Agartala, Bhilai, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Mohali, Patna, Vijayawada.NGIS has a budgetary outlay of Rs 95.03 Crores over three years. It targets to incentivize 300 select start-ups with seed-fund of up to Rs 25 Lakh. Other expenses are earmarked towards marketing support, Intern/Challenge Grant, software product security testing service, Hackathon/Challenge, Manpower & Management. The government of Odisha has also supported these initiatives with seed fund support to promote the Innovators of the State in their entrepreneurial pursuit.
Mr Panda is also grateful for the constant support from DG, STPI and State Government and other stakeholders in this successful journey of STPI-Bhubaneswar. STPI has also established a Fabrication Lab (Fab Lab) at Bhubaneswar with support from Fab Foundation/MIT, USA & State Government to create a maker culture among the Students, enthusiasts & budding Entrepreneurs. STPI Fab Lab provided a platform for creating prototypes for anything & everything you conceptualise. STPI has also established a Tier III compliant Data Centre at Bhubaneswar which will play a significant role in Data Storage, Data Recovery (DR), Cloud & BCP applications and services.
Thanks to the diligent efforts, Bhubaneswar is also home to the Centre of Excellence in Virtual & Augmented Reality. This centre has been set up at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar with support from MeitY, STPI, State Government & Philanthropic grant from Smt. Susmita Bagchi. With support from the Government of India, State Government and DG, STPI, STPI Bhubaneswar have more summits to scale and reach new heights in the IT & ESDM sector.
Article Written By Dibyajit Sahoo
