Pune only behind Bangalore in software exports in India

While Karnataka leads the ranking in IT exports, Maharashtra is second followed by Tamil Nadu and then the NCR, followed by Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal (Kolkata), according to Dr Omkar Rai, director general, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).

While Pune and Mumbai continue to have the lion’s share in IT exports, other centres too are coming up on the IT export map. Prominent among them is Nagpur, which has seen exports of Rs 215.85 crore, Nashik is at Rs 112.36 crore, Kolhapur at Rs 46.80 crore and Aurangabad at Rs 5.56 crore. This takes total exports out of Maharashtra to Rs 51,76,000 crore.

The Pune-Mumbai Knowledge Corridor has shown impressive growth with the IT and ITES industry firmly entrenched in the two cities.

STPI has recently shifted its western India headquarters from Mumbai to Pune. The good news for the IT industry, especially IT product companies, is that STPI is looking to reposition itself as a more serious player in the start-up ecosystem. Dr Rai said STPI will play the role of incubator, assist in getting risk capital, help in marketing and filing of IPRs.

He said STPI will be offering product companies a differential tariff structure so they will pay less lease rent than service companies to incentivise them. STPI is also in the process of revising its regulations to ease the entry and exit for start-ups and simplify procedures under the new national policies on IT and electronics. These revisions are being prepared by the government in consultation with the industry and will aid the start-ups registering under STPI, Rai said in a media interaction at the IT Industry 2014 meet organised by the Software Exporters Association of Pune (SEAP) and NASSCOM in Pune on Wednesday.

SEAP vice-president Prashant Pansare said, “Pune has been one of the fastest growing cities in Asia, and in India it’s the second largest growing IT destination after Bangalore. SEAP is playing a pivotal role to build an effective eco-system of software exporters, MSMEs, start-ups, innovators and allied segments to position Pune as the preferred IT destination. There have been major changes in the government IT policy and STPI regulations, affecting the productivity and competitiveness of the IT segment and this meeting was held to resolve these issues and highlight the concerns of the industry.”

He added, “Going forward, our key focus at SEAP will be to encouraging innovation, product development, entrepreneurship and start-up mentoring.”

Abhijit Atre, member of the governing council of SEAP, was also present on the occasion.

STPI is creating 10 lakh sq ft space across its facilities in India for IT start-ups. Pune already has 40,000 sq ft of STPI space and 13,000 sq ft of this space is available for start-ups with plug-and-play facilities.