Telangana plans to double IT exports in 5 years

Sharath Chowdary | The Dollar Business

With the recently launched Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy, Telangana Government aims to double the current IT exports of Rs. 68,232 crore and attract $3 billion (approximately Rs 19,960 crore) investments into the state over the next five years, Telangana IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told The Dollar Business during a Startup Summit organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and supported by Google.

“Along with ICT policy, the State Government has unveiled four other subsidiary policies to support innovation, gaming and animation, rural tech centres and growth of electronics for making Telangana as the most preferred IT destination in the country. The Government has also set a target to double the current employment of four lakh and transform three tier-II cities of the state as IT hubs in the coming five years,” Ranjan said.

He further said, “Telangana is the first state to announce its Startup Policy after the launch of Prime Minister’s National Startup Mission. Though the states of Kerala and Rajasthan have their Startup Policies before that, Telangana has got the advantage of being in alignment with the National ‘Standup-Startup Mission’ by understanding the gaps of the policy. Though we have the largest incubator T-Hub in the state, we still encourage private incubators as per our policy. Shortly we are listing out the operational guidelines for startups to claim benefits from the state government.”

He also informed, “We see endless opportunities for the startups based on mobile apps in the coming days. The Telangana Government has initiated T-app Folio (Telangana App store) to begin with the mobile version of Mee Seva services. To strengthen the ‘m-Governance movement’, we have set a target to develop 500 apps in a period of one year. Among them 20 apps should be launched by June 2, 2016 (Telangana formation day). We are enthused by the success of our recently launched app RTA m-Wallet, that stores digital copies of driving licence, registration certificate and insurance. Within a very less time, the app has one lakh downloads and it has become one of the top 10 apps in just three days.”

“Telangana Government is committed to move fast on the m-Governance path. Once completed the ‘T-app Folio’ would have 500 basic useful apps. The Folio would be entirely based on the model to engage maximum private app developers particularly startups to achieve this comprehensive plan. The Government will soon release the RFP (Request for Proposal) Guidelines, and subsequently, the developers would be invited to apply to be part of this initiative. The engagement of developers would be a non-conventional process and would be more empanelment based,” he added.

Speaking about the event, Vishwanath Alluri, Founder of IMImobile said, "The Start-up summit is a great learning experience for many young entrepreneurs of Hyderabad as they get to not only network with other entrepreneurs; but also learn from valuable experiences of other successful entrepreneurs. This should give a good boost to the entrepreneurial culture in Telengana State.”

“With the Prime Minister releasing the Startup Action Plan, entrepreneurship has received a fillip. The start-up ecosystem is robust, and is demonstrated by the keen interest of international venture capital (VC) funds and Private Equity (PE) firms in Indian startups. But don’t start a venture just by getting inspired listening to successful stories, inspiration may not last long. Before taking any decision, weigh the pros and cons,” he advised.

The President of IAMAI, Subho Ray said, “IAMAI is working closely with the industry and the government to support and boost the digital start-up community in India. This event in Hyderabad is a step forward towards that direction.”

Two members of Google India, who represented their company at the summit, Vineeta Dixit and Chetan Krishnaswamy (Head Public Policy) were happy that the Govt. of Telangana was taking steps to encourage the IT environment in the State. Speaking to the media Chetan said, “Mobile is transforming the Indian economy and creating new opportunities for start-ups and consumers alike. We are happy to partner with IAMAI to showcase innovative products and services enabled through mobile technologies. We hope that there is continued policy support for growing the mobile economy”.