Rs 243 cr IT SEZ to come up in Indore

Parsvanath Developers Ltd, a Pradeep Jain-promoted Parsvanath group company, has proposed to set up an information technology-based special economic zone in Indore.

The company will invest Rs 243 crore in the project. The Centre has approved the project.

A top official of the department of industries said: "We have been told by the company that the necessary survey will start in a couple of days and the project is likely to take shape by December this year. A land area of 25 acres will be allotted to the firm."

If the project comes up, it would be the second IT SEZ in Indore. The government-created "product specific IT SEZ" is already there in the form of a Crystal IT Park.

In-principle approval for the Crystal IT Park to take shape as SEZ was granted earlier this year by the Centre but a formal announcement is yet to be made.

However, the state agency Audyogik Kendra Vikas Nigam has failed to market the Crystal IT Park.

Another IT SEZ in Gwalior, which has been informally announced earlier this year, is yet to take off. The minuscule investment from IT companies is limited to few e-governance projects, which are either at stagnation stage or failed to reach commoners due to frequent changes either in bureaucracy or in policies.

The Stockholm challenge award winning project 'Gyandoot' is now Greek to many.

The state also government has announced its Information Policy twice within a period of ten years there are few takers for it in absence of marketing strategy and aggressiveness on the part of government.

Although state switched over to optical fiber connectivity in 1998, a few companies entered the State. Some issues pertaining to air-connectivity, taxations and availability of skilled labours locally are prime reasons that hinder growth in the sector.

Recently industry minister Mr Babulal Gaur claimed that big companies like Infosys had evinced in the state, the latter has not confirmed it.