IT sector to generate 30,000 jobs in Odisha over two years

Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled services are expected to create 30,000 new jobs in the state in the next two years with IT bigwigs like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro looking to ramp up headcount.

Employment in the IT sector is also set to look up as the state IT department is looking to rope in IT investors in small and medium scale to establish their facilities in the state.

“Infosys has already started work on its second development centre at Infovalley on the city’s outskirts. We are trying to bring in small and mid-sized IT firms from Bangalore to set up their centres in the city. Initially, we will be offering them plug and play office space. Besides, the state government is giving the final shape to its new ICT (information & communication technology) policy that will be readied in 2-3 months,” said Madhusudhan Padhee, state IT secretary.

Infosys Technologies is the anchor tenant for the Infovalley being developed on 500 acres of land at Janla on the outskirts of the city. The software major has been allotted 45 acres of land.

Out of the total area of 500 acres earmarked for the project, SEZ (Special Economic Zone) notification has been issued for 262 acres and within the SEZ notified area, it has been decided to devote 60 per cent for processing area and the balance 40 per cent for non-processing facilities.

As per the estimates of the state IT department, the Infocity-II project is set to attract investments worth Rs 4,000 crore from IT and ITes companies.

IT firms registered with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has engaged around 10,000 people in the state.

Besides TCS and Infosys, MindTree Consulting has firmed up plans to build a 10,000-seater software development centre in the city with a total built-up area of 1.5 million sq ft. The company co-headquartered in Bangalore and Somerset in New Jersey (US) had announced an investment of around Rs 200 crore for the development centre in Bhubaneswar. The company had signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on August 29, 2006.