Andhra eyes foray into sunrise IT sectors

Andhra Pradesh, which earns the fourth largest revenues from IT exports amounting to Rs 18,500 crore, accounting for about 15 per cent of the total IT exports from the country, has identified Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Warangal and Cuddapah as cities with potential for growth in IT.

Besides, it is now looking proactively at foraying into sunrise IT sectors such as KPO along with animation and gaming.

"The IT boom has had a significant impact on real estate development in Andhra Pradesh. The state offers tremendous development potential with Hyderabad at the epicentre of IT growth, followed by emerging cities such as Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati. The state's initiatives and strategies for infrastructural development, human resource development and policy framework to support and attract investments have helped it become an attractive investment destination for developers and occupiers. From the positive growth momentum built by the government, Andhra Pradesh is steadily placing itself firmly on the global business map," Anuj Puri, chairman and country head, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, the Indian operations of global real estate management firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc, said here on Thursday.

Releasing a report 'Andhra Pradesh - The chosen destination for IT', along with chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy at the IndiaSoft 2008, Puri said that the Indian real estate market is not only growing in terms of pace, but also in scale.

"Real estate growth engines are no longer in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune. Smaller cities are now expected to be the growth drivers over the next decade. More that a dozen tier-III cities compete with each other to attract developers, investors and occupiers. The smaller cities in Andhra Pradesh will have an advantage due to relentless government support," he said.

The report states that Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of SEZs approved by the Centre for the IT sector (as of December 31, 2007) and it is expected to get a total of 71 SEZs which will create overall jobs for more than 2.5 million people.

A new ICT (2005-2010) is in place to make Andhra Pradesh the most attractive and preferred destination for the IT companies, it added.

Overall, the report concludes that buoyed by significant infrastructure development and the emergence of Hyderabad as the prime IT hub of Andhra Pradesh, the government has identified the IT sector as one of the most important economic drivers for the state.