UP to explore IT/ITeS SEZ in Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh government is keen on having an Information Technology/IT Enabled Services (IT/ITeS) Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Lucknow to give a major boost to the sector.

While the government admitted that it acknowledged the potential of an IT/ITeS SEZ in the state capital, no timeline had so far been fixed. Besides, the government is also keen on the need to aggressively solicit some large anchor IT/ITeS investments in Lucknow, given that the city is an excellent hub of talent and offers an excellent quality of life. The anchor investments would propel the SEZ into fructification and a successful venture.

Addressing a CII interactive session on ‘IT-BPO Destination Lucknow’, UP industrial & infrastructure development commissioner (IIDC) Anoop Mishra agreed in-principle to the need for a large IT/ITeS SEZ. TCS, which has a good presence in UP, was a partner in the event.

Mishra also stressed the need to make the state workforce more employable. “Among the challenger locations listed in the Nasscom-AT Kearney Study, Lucknow has a huge opportunity to emerge as an IT-BPO hotspot,” TCS principal consultant Jayant Krishna said.

He shared his company’s excellent experience with their global delivery operations based in Lucknow.“TCS-Lucknow has low attrition, high employee satisfaction, strong process rigour and a high customer satisfaction. Talent availability is abundant in and around Lucknow, whereas space rentals are almost half compared to the NCR. All these factors make an excellent business case favouring Lucknow,” he underlined.

Meanwhile, UP IT & Electronics principal secretary Chandra Prakash told Business Standard the government would take definite steps in the direction of setting up an IT/ITeS SEZ in the city. “The idea of such an SEZ is very much viable and we will see how to proceed in this regard,” he said.