Nitish laments IT firms not considering Bihar as investment destination
Patna,(BiharTimes): Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday lamented that IT companies were not considering Bihar as an investment destination.
He said increasing use of IT and ITeS would bring transparency in delivery of government schemes and help check corruption. He also asked IT firms to be cautious on cyber security.
Yet he offered top priority status to those projects of Information Technology (IT) sector, which involve a minimum investment of Rs five crore and employ more than 50 people in their core activity.
The sops range from state-tax holidays to grants for hiring local talent, besides ‘special incentives’.
He made the announcement at the ‘Bihar IT and ITeS Investors Conclave 2017’.
The chief minister urged investors to consider setting shop in Bihar, at least as a test case, to tap the huge potential.
Nitish said that while several steps have already been initiated for the promotion of thrust areas, including IT, the government was willing to walk the extra mile for fast tracking investments in IT and ITeS (Information Technology enabled services) sector
He said new proposals would not have to pay land conversion charges and get 100% exemption from paying SGST for five years, in addition to relief in ESI and EPF for Bihari employees and Rs 20,000 subsidy for employees undergoing skill development training on completion of one year in service.
Expressing happiness on attending an IT conclave in his home state Union minister for electronics and IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad appealed to companies to invest in Bihar.
He said cyber security is a big challenge for the country. A state-of-the art institution would be opened under the leadership of CDAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) to provide training in digital forensics, digital policing and cyber security," the Union minister said. "IIT Patna will serve as a knowledge partner for it.
Over 200 senior representatives from leading companies such as Microsoft, HP, Dell, Idea were present at the event organised by the state government in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and KPMG.
