In order to promote technology-oriented companies in Bihar, the state government has decided to come up with a new IT policy that will offer more sops for technology companies investing in the state.
The state government is working on the draft of the information technology, IT-enabled services (ITeS) and electronics manufacturing investment policy strategy. “We are trying to understand what the industry is looking for in terms of help with incentives, clearances or support,” Bihar’s IT secretary Rahul Singh said.
The state is undertaking a huge outreach effort to familiarise itself and the companies about the state’s potential, he added.
Last week, he met almost 35 senior industry captains at a consultation meet organised by the Bihar’s IT department in association with industry body CII. Industry members included senior executives from companies such as TCS, IBM, Cisco, HP India, Tech Mahindra, Softage, Tejas Networks etc.
“The uniform feedback that we have received is that incentives play a major role, but more important is the commitment of the state and the ecosystem available,” added Singh.
The new policy has been going on for a while and the draft should be ready by August end. It is expected to be finalised by September. The policy will have more benefits than the current sops offered to companies and will make the investment environment more conducive.
Bihar is among the few states in India to have a startup policy that was drafted and introduced in 2016. It was later repealed to incorporate changes based on the suggestions. It was later repealed to incorporate changes based on the suggestions and feedback, and was re-launched last week.
Besides, the government has decided to set up IT Parks at Bihta and Rajgir. The parks will offer uninterrupted internet connectivity and 24X7 power supply.
Earlier in May, the state government has announced Rs 500-crore fund to encourage and facilitate entrepreneurship.
Under the startup policy, startups will receive financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakh as an interest-free loan for 10 years. The entrepreneur will contribute five percent of this financial assistance.
It will facilitate access to angel investors, provide free-of-cost valuation for startups, and that the government will also bear all costs associated with filing domestic patents, the policy added.
