Information Technology Department POLICY NOTE - 2004 – 2005 Demand No. 30 INTRODUCTION Tamil Nadu is one of the top Information Technology (IT) States in India and has continued its leading position amongst the top IT exporting States with IT exports nearly reaching 2 billion US Dollars. The availability of world class infrastructure, excellent and abundant skilled human resources, global connectivity combined with the presence of industrial peace and the forward looking policy of this Government has enabled the State to emerge as a preferred destination for IT Companies. With over 100 ITES Companies establishing or expanding in Tamil Nadu in the last one year the State has continued to maintain double digit growth in the IT sector under the dynamic leadership of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The IT Policy 2002 announced in September 2002 by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has put Tamil Nadu to continue the growth path in terms of capturing substantial portion of IT exports from the country. Tamil Nadu is forging ahead as a key hub of Information Technology services as well as Information Technology Enabled Services. The three IT majors viz. Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services Limited and Wipro have acquired large tracts of lands in and around Chennai to meet their expansion plans. The huge demand has generated the growth in IT infrastructure and the development of more than 1.4 million sq.ft. IT space in the last 4 months is testimony to that. The Government is confident of enabling another 2.5 million sq.ft. IT space in private as well as in public sector in the year 2004 to meet the growing requirements of national and international clients. The first phase of Knowledge Industrial Township is being planned by a Special Purpose Vehicle in Sholinganallur along the IT corridor. Within the Information Technology (IT) sector, the highest growth rate has been shown by the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) sector and this will continue to remain the key growth driver for the industry. Several locations have been identified for operations in India and it is a matter of satisfaction as per NASSCOM KPMG Study 2004 that Chennai and Coimbatore are preferred destinations. The new ITES Policy of the Government to be released will create immense employment opportunities and add value and wealth by leveraging the inherent strength of the state. Efforts have been initiated as part of IT promotion to position Chennai as the World Capital of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Health and Transportation segments of ITES. Based on the Industry analysis Government will continue to promote ITES in Chennai and has also identified Coimbatore to promote IT/ITES. Initial marketing in several international & national IT events like Bangalore IT.com and Incredible India show at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia have met with an enthusiastic response. Government will continue to strive to put the State in the forefront of IT. The Government of Tamil Nadu participated in a number of National and International exhibitions to create brand equity for Tamil Nadu as a Destination of Choice for IT and ITES investments. Government is also planning to appoint an international consultant through a transparent route and has directed ELCOT to start the process of identification. The 7th National e-Governance conference held in Chennai was inaugurated by the then Hon'ble Deputy Prime Minister of India Shri. L.K. Advani in the presence of Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and has opened new avenues for the e-Governance activities in the state. An e-Governance Cell has started functioning which will facilitate the e-Governance activities of all Government Departments of the State. ELECTRONICS CORPORATION OF TAMIL NADU LIMITED (ELCOT) Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) was incorporated in 1977 as a wholly owned enterprise of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Over the years ELCOT has re-engineered itself as the IT enabling company promoting institutions like TIDEL, etc. for creating specific infrastructure for IT and ITES investments. It is also acting as the Nodal Agency for implementing the IT policy of the Government of Tamil Nadu and has forged close linkages with academic institutions like Anna University and IIT Madras, Chennai as well as linkage with IT, ITES and Electronics companies thus acting as the ‘Channel of Connectivity’ between Government, Industry and Institutions. In March 2004, ELCOT has completed 27 years of service to Tamil Nadu and is fully geared for many more years of service. Achievements: ELCOT has re-engineered into four distinct entities in the last years namely: A. IT Promotional and Developmental Initiatives B. Special Projects C. Tamil Nadu e-Governance Mission D. IT Procurement and Services A) IT Promotional and Developmental Initiatives I) Promotional Projects To promote Tamil Nadu as a Destination of Choice for IT Investments, ELCOT has organized conferences and exhibitions and also participated in National and International Events in 2003-2004. National: a) Connect 2003, Chennai: Government of Tamil Nadu with CII organized the 'Connect 2003' Conference and Exhibition during September 2003 at Chennai jointly ELCOT was at the forefront on behalf of the Government. The event was organized with three specific streams as follows: 18th September 2003 : There was a conference on Business Process Outsourcing. 19th September 2003 : A summit for Chief Information Officers (CIOs) was organized. On the same day Confederation of India Industry (CII) had organized their National Chief Information Officers (CIOs) Summit. 20th September 2003 : There were four different Sectoral Roundtables on "Enabling ITES in" • Banking, Finance and Insurance • Healthcare • Engineering Back Office • Human Capital Hon'ble Minister for Law, Information Technology and Electricity led an Official level delegation to Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka on a Public Private Partnership with CII. Secretary, Information Technology Department, Government of Tamil Nadu led an official level delegation to Gurgaon and Bangalore for presentations on Connect 2003. 55,000 delegates / visitors participated from India and abroad showing two fold increase over the last year in Connect 2003. b) The 2003 India Outsourcing Summit - Bangalore:- The Government participated in the 2003 Outsourcing Summit at Bangalore held during October 2003. Michael Corbett, the prime mover behind the Outsourcing movement and an internationally known ITES Outsourcing Expert visited Chennai with delegates on 14th October 2003 and had meetings with the ITES groups in Chennai. The event was managed by ELCOT through a Public Private Partnership route and the visitors were shown around different facilities including World Bank, Scope International and Bharti Telecom etc. This created tremendous awareness about the State. c) Bangalore IT.COM, Bangalore:- Government of Tamil Nadu through ELCOT participated in Bangalore IT.COM held during November 2003 at Bangalore. Secretary, IT made special presentations to select CIOs as well as Press Meet at Bangalore. A linkage was established with Hong Kong Trade Mission during Bangalore IT COM as a sequel the delegates visited Chennai during 11th December 2003. d) India International Trade Fair 2003 at New Delhi:- Government of Tamil Nadu through ELCOT participated in the India International Trade Fair 2003 held at New Delhi during November 2003. e) TiECON India, 2003 - Global Entrepreneurs' Conference - New Delhi:- Government of Tamil Nadu through ELCOT participated in TiECON India 2003 held at New Delhi during December 2003. Secretary, Information Technology Department has participated in the conference. The Conference was organized with a specific stream on the various opportunities in evolving industries like I.T., BPO and other future trends in IT/ITES area. f) GITEX 2004 - International IT Exhibition and Conference - HYDERABAD:- Government of Tamil Nadu through ELCOT participated in the International IT Trade Show and Conference held at Hyderabad during January 2004. Secretary, Information Technology Department addressed a press conference. g) Coimbatore IT.COM:- A conference titled "Coimbatore IT.COM" was organized in Coimbatore during November 2003 in Partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Secretary, Information Technology Department addressed a press conference here. h) Celebration of Second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas - New Delhi:- Government of Tamil Nadu through ELCOT participated in the Celebration of Second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held at New Delhi during January 2004. Secretary, Information Technology participated in the above conference. i) NASSCOM 2004 India Leadership Forum - Mumbai: The NASSCOM 2004 India Leadership Forum is a multi track conference and includes focused sessions on global economic landscape, IT opportunities, BPO and embedded software. Secretary, I.T. Department and Managing Director, ELCOT participated in the conference. J) ASSOCHAM - World Bank - National Summit & Exhibition India - The Knowledge Capital : Tamil Nadu State Government through ELCOT put up a stall during February 2004 in the event. This Conference was addressed by Secretary, I.T. and Managing Director, ELCOT. International: k) European Outsourcing Summit: - Secretary, IT participated in the European Outsourcing summit 2003 held at Brussels, Belgium during 2-3 June 2003. This event gave an opportunity to network with stalwart of outsourcing, Michael Corbett who was persuaded to visit Chennai as part of