Bhubaneswar: With an aim to make Odisha a powerhouse in the IT and electronics sectors by 2036 when the state completes 100 years of formation, the State government has drafted new IT Policy and sought opinion from public and concerned stakeholders.
The new Policy was drafted to attract new investments by creating world class infrastructure and promoting investor facilitation and promote Tier-II & III cities and towns as IT destinations and aiding in setting up required infrastructure including IT parks for enabling them to attract IT investments and thereby enhancing employment opportunities.
As per the draft, the IT companies recruiting local youths would be entitled for 100% reimbursement of the expenditure incurred towards contribution for Employees State Insurance (ESI) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) of employees.
“Eligible units shall be granted 100% reimbursement of the employer’s contribution towards ESI and EPF for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial operations in the state for skilled and semi-skilled workers who are domicile of the state,” the policy document said.
For those companies setting up IT parks in the state, the policy proposes to give 100 percent exemption of stamp duty on first transaction and 50 percent exemption on second transaction on lease/ale agreement of land or built-up space allotted by the government, it said.
Eligible IT units/Towers/Parks will also be provided 100% exemption/reimbursement from payment of Electricity Duty for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial operations in the state.
Power Tariff of Rs 2 per unit will be reimbursed for power purchased and consumed from local DISCOMs for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial operations in the state. The IT units/Towers/Parks shall be eligible for Industrial tariff.
Similarly, it plans to provide 100% reimbursement on State GST to eligible IT units/Towers/Parks.
Other notable provisions of the new policy are reimbursement of 30% of the fixed capital investment for units with less than Rs 100 crore investment while those between Rs 100 crore and Rs 200 crore would get 25% of the investment cost reimbursed. For investments above Rs 250 crore, 20% of the amount would be reimbursed.
For IT Towers, a minimum of 70 % of the built-up area have to be allocated to lT/lTeS units and maximum of 30% of built-up area shall be allowed for support infrastructure services which will include public utility services, cafeteria, food zones, restaurants, recreational centres.
As per the policy documents, the eligible IT units/Towers/Parks will be entitled to get interest subsidy of 5% per annum on long term loans availed from recognized financial institutions and banks, subject to a maximum of Rs 10 crore per year for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial operation.
The Government will encourage women, SC/ST & Disabled entrepreneurs by providing them additional interest subsidy of 1% per annum over and above the instant incentive.
To promote research in the IT sector, the government proposed that eligible R&D investments would be eligible for 50% reimbursement on investments subject to a maximum of Rs 10 crore to the academia, R&D institutions as well as technical and scientific organizations of repute, subject to approval by the Government. This will be available over the policy period of 5 years.