Govt looks east, Warangal highway to be next IT hub

HYDERABAD: With the present IT corridor in Madhapur, Gachibowli and Financial District in the western parts of Hyderabad getting saturated, the state government is now looking east. In a new policy ‘Look East’, which is likely to be rolled out in a month, IT and ITeS companies will be promoted to set up shop in the eastern corner of Hyderabad (Uppal to Bhongir and Warangal highway) in the next few years.
Official sources said a draft on the new policy has been prepared by the IT, electronics and communication department and is likely to be unveiled in June first week once the election model code ends. As part of the policy, 25% power subsidy will be given to the new units with a cap of Rs 25 lakh per anum for a maximum period of three years. Similarly, recruitment grant of Rs 20,000 per IT or ITeS firm with a cap of Rs 1 crore per year per unit for three years will be provided from the date of start of operations.
“Since rent is a burden for the new firms and start-ups, a rental subsidy of 25% is being proposed in the policy with a cap of Rs 50 lakh per unit for a maximum period of three years from the date of launching operations. It has been decided to provide free Internet bandwidth for three years with a cap of Rs 25 lakh per anum per unit,” a senior official of chief minister’s office told TOI.
IT department officials said there are a couple of firms like Genpact which are already functioning from Uppal and Infosys and Raheja have campuses near Pocharam on Warangal highway. “There are huge tracts of vacant land in the eastern parts. Metro Rail connectivity from Nagole to Hi-Tec City and proximity to Outer Ring Road is an additional bonus. Since plans are afoot to shift polluting industries away from the city, including Uppal industrial development area (IDA), IT firms can tap IDA,” a senior official, who was part of the team which prepared the draft, said.
A proposal to construct a ramp from Uppal IDA to the cricket stadium Metro Rail station for IT employees is also in the pipeline. In the recently held land auctions at Uppal Bhagat Layout near Nagole, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority kept aside bigger plots of 4,000 to 5,000 square yards as there is a possibility of IT parks and malls coming up there.