By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 17: The state government intends to attract an investment of Rs 750 crore through its IT/ITeS Policy.
The draft of the IT/ITeS Policy revealed the state aims to become one of the top 10 states in IT/ITeS in the next 10 years and double its Gross State Domestic Product to $10 billion within the next five years.
The first phase of the Shillong Technology Park comprises a built-up area of one lakh square feet. The construction work in the second phase is in progress and expected to be completed within a year.
The state government is also in the process of setting up a Technology Park at Tura in West Garo Hills district. According to the policy, the government is taking several steps towards increasing air connectivity. It has initiated steps for upgrading the Umroi airport in Shillong to an international airport to provide further impetus to the Centre’s Act East policy.
For seamless connectivity, the government expects to operationalise the Baljek Airport in Tura expeditiously. It is collaborating with some reliable partners to implement the International Internet Gateway (IIG) project. This will provide an alternative reliable internet backhaul from the cable landing stations in neighbouring Bangladesh to cater to the growing internet demands in Meghalaya.
The government, which intends to create 15,000 direct employments through the IT/ITeS Policy, is offering several incentives to the firms.
According to the policy, a benefit for investors is that a chunk of land in the state is either owned by communities and individuals or under their control. The government will endeavour to work towards creating Land Banks which can be leased to interested and eligible third parties to build infrastructure or undertake IT/ITeS-related activities in accordance with its extant policies as amended from time to time.
A one-time incentive of Rs 50,000 per seat created on land leased from the state after the policy commencement date will be granted to the infrastructure developer. The incentive is capped to a maximum of 15,000 employments generated during the policy period.
The IT/ITeS companies and Technology Parks will be entitled to exemption on stamp duty as per the State Industrial Policy.
The government will provide reimbursement upto a maximum of Rs 3,000 per employee per month for expenses incurred by IT/ITeS companies for a period of three 3 years from the date of availing of the incentives.
The reimbursement of expenses will be available for employee positions or jobs created after the date of commencement of the policy. The expenses include employer contribution to the Employee Provident Fund and expenses towards internet bandwidth, electricity and transportation charges.
The government will provide power-related incentives for IT/ITeS firms as per the State Industrial Policy. The early birds of IT/ITeS units availing spaces in the Technology Parks will be given preferential rental rates which may be notified by the competent authority from time to time.
The IT/ITeS companies and Technology Parks shall be exempted from the purview of the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, except in respect of power generation sets.
Further, they will be exempted from provisions and inspections under the different Acts such as Factories Act 1948, Meghalaya Shops and Establishment Act 2003 and Meghalaya Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules.