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Government considering exclusive authority for IT, BT and NT

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

STREAMLINING ADMINISTRATION: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and IT and BT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu at the launch of BangaloreIT.biz in Bangalore on Tuesday. Chief Mentor of Infosys N.R. Narayana Murthy is seen.

Bangalore: Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Tuesday announced that the State Government will soon come out with a policy to boost the semiconductor sector. Speaking after launching BangaloreIT.biz, 2008, the new look of the 11th edition of bangaloreit.in and bangaloreit.com series here, Mr. Yeddyurappa told the IT industry representatives that the Government will consider the suggestion to establish an exclusive authority for information technology (IT), biotechnology (BT) and nanotechnology (NT) to streamline the various government processes.

The suggestion was put forward by N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman of the Board and Chief Mentor, Infosys. Mr. Murthy said that the authority should act as a single window agency for the IT, BT and NT companies and such an authority should have full powers and make government process without any “friction and make the lives of companies easier” to operate in the State.

Mr. Yeddyurappa also said the State Government will offer incentives, including exemption from stamp duty, registration fee and waiver of conversion fee for the IT companies that establish their business in the backward regions of the State.

The Chief Minister announced that the annual IT event, which will be held from November 6 to 8, has been moved back to the Palace Grounds from Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on Tumkur Road following demand from the IT sector to organise the event in the city centre.

Unlike in the previous year, this year’s IT event will focus on creating a business to business (B2B) platform for the industry to promote partnerships and forge alliance with leading players in domestic and international markets. For this purpose, dedicated business hours have been fixed while limiting the public visiting hours.

This year, the Government has joined hands with India Semiconductor Association and Manufacture’s Association for Information Technology in organising the country’s flagship ICT event to rope in more companies for the event.

The three-day conference will include emerging opportunities for ICT in green technologies, IT manufacturing, e-security, e-governance, healthcare, education and round table discussion on rural IT policy, said Ashok Kumar Manoli, Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and Science and Technology.

Two other unique subjects to be discussed during the event are — IT in nation’s internal security and the role of IT in sports.

While the US, Germany, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Mexico and Chile have confirmed their participation in the event, others, including Russia, are expected to participate.

R. Rajalakshmi, Director, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Bangalore, said that Karnataka’s software export is about 36 per cent of country’s total export, and the IT research and development segment in the State showed a growth of 35 per cent last year as against the 24 per cent in the previous year.

For the first time, STPI, which is co-hosting BangaloreIT.biz, will present annual export awards during the event.

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