Govt clears proposal for setting up ITIRs

After IT Parks and IT SEZs, the government has cleared a proposal for creating a much larger Information Technology Investment regions to give a fillip to the country's growing IT and ITeS sector.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday, cleared the policy for setting up ITIRs, each having an area of at least 40 sq km.

"ITIRs were conceptualised keeping in view the need to boost the growth of both IT/IT enabled services (ITeS) and Electronic Hardware Manufacturing (EHM) units," an official statement said.

These regions would become major magnets for investment, creating employment opportunities and economic growth in the area while reducing the pressure on existing urban centres by enabling growth of new townships, it added.

The ITIRs will be much larger than IT SEZs. Each ITIR is expected to be specifically notified investment region with minimum area of 40 sq km planned for IT and ITeS and EHM units. The minimum processing area would be 40 per cent of the total area of the ITIR.

The regions would be a combination of IT/ITeS and EHM units, public utilities, residential areas, social infrastructure and administrative services.

According to the proposal, while the Centre will facilitate development of national highways, airport and rail links towards the ITIRs, states will help in the local infrastructure like power, water, health, education and state roads.

The ITIRs would be developed in a phased manner through Public-Private Partnership route.