In this age of Information Technology (IT) the newly inaugurated park gives hope that several bright young IT professionals from Meghalaya who are otherwise employed outside the state will bring their expertise to bear closer home. The IT Park will also be a place for all manner of technology-led start-ups. Meghalaya has been rather late in setting up this much-needed infrastructure which is a fast growing industry. It will comprise information technology services, consulting and outsourcing. In 2020 the IT industry accounted for 8 % of the GDP.
Meghalaya will now join the domestic IT and Business Processing Management (BPM) industry which as of March 2021 was employing 4.5 million people. The US accounts for two-thirds of India’s IT services exports. Anyone who has visited HITEC City or Cyberabad in Hyderabad would understand how the IT industry has been responsible for generating employment opportunities for the burgeoning youth population of Telangana and for the youth of other states and countries too. Cyberabad has become a major global IT hub and also the largest bio-informatics hub in India. Hyderabad is today the second largest city for software exports. Some of the leading tech companies such as Accenture, Amazon, Deloitte,Tata Consultancy Services, Microsoft, HCL, Technologies, Oracle Corporation, Google, Qualcomm, Dell, Cognizant among others. As of 2020, the IT exports from Hyderabad was ₹128,807 crore (US$15 billion). There are about 1500 IT and ITES companies that provide employment to about 582,126 people. A similar situation exists in Bengaluru and Pune.
The IT Park in New Shillong Township has possibilities to expand since there is enough space. Last year a professional representing an IT Company in Bengaluru had come to Shillong with the aim of setting up a branch here. They said they were in talks with the Government and would be able to employ about 3000 young IT professionals within Shillong if they get all the clearances from the Government. This gives hope that many enterprising youth would join the Company and many more would be trained to take up other responsibilities. A lot depends on the Government of the day to open up the space for private investors to use the IT Park to mutual advantage. In fact, the Government should outsource this space and not take on the task of running it lest it become another non-starter. This green industry is what Meghalaya needs. For too long the state has concentrated on polluting industries such as coal mining, cement companies, coke factories and stone quarrying all of which are damaging to the environment and have poisoned our rivers and the air we breathe. The IT Park might be the answer to our twin problems – clean industry and employment. Both are win-win situations.
