Leverage Offset Policy To Augment IT Export: AP IT Minister

Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Minister for Information Technology & Communications, Government of Andhra Pradesh has urged that the IT industry to increasingly take advantage of the Offset Policy governing the defense imports to leverage the IT exports to the developed markets.

The offset policy allows India to export 30 percent of the total value of the defense imports from a particular country to that destination. This he said would give a great fillip to IT exports, particularly from the SME sector. He also wanted ESC to create a digital platform for B2B operations primarily directed at the SME sector.

Pitching for earliest approval of the three ITIR projects submitted by the government of Andhra Pradesh to the central ministry, Lakshmaiah said that 17 ministries have already cleared the projects, including the Planning Commission. The project is awaiting the clearance of the Union IT ministry and hoped that the approval would be expedited at the earliest. The Andhra Pradesh Government has earmarked 200 sq km for three projects under ITIR, with a total outlay of Rs 2085 crore.

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Dwelling on the remarkable feat achieved by the state in the IT segment, Lakshmaiah said that Andhra Pradesh exports close to Rs 35,000 crore every year and has become the third largest IT exporting city in the country. Till the end of 2011, Andhra Pradesh has created 279,000 direct jobs in the IT sector. The state is also fast becoming a happening region for the knowledge industry. One out of every third graduates passing out of educational institutions is from the state, he added.