CHENNAI: Deputy chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday expressed the hope that the information technology industry would make use of the extension of special economic zone (SEZ) concessions to speed up their projects in the state.
Speaking at the valedictory session for the IT summit, Connect 2010' here, Stalin said that when the government of India proposed to withdraw concessions extended to
SEZ under the Direct Tax Code, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi had taken up the issue with the Union government, and the period of concession had since been extended.
Connect 2010 was jointly organised by the state government, Confederation of Indian Industry and the ministry of communications and information technology.
Citing the information technology department's annual report for 2009-10, Stalin said it presented an optimistic picture.
Speaking of Tamil Nadu's improved performance in the IT sector, Stalin added, Software exports from Tamil Nadu have increased from Rs 161 crore in 1996-97 to Rs 36,680 crore in 2008-09." Tier II cities in Tamil Nadu too were quickly picking up, opined Stalin. "IT export from Coimbatore was only Rs54 crore in 2004-05, but in 2008-09, it went up to Rs 374 crore"
Poongothai Aladi Aruna, state minister for information technology, who was also a panelist at the summit stressed on the need to integrate IT with other services. "This is the time to integrate IT with other fields like manufacturing, health care and media. Soon connectivity will become the mantra for every aspect of life," she said.
The valedictory session also included the presentation of an Entrepreneur of the Year' award to Madhava Reddy of HTC Global Services for his contribution in transformation of ELCOT and a lifetime achievement award to R.Ramaraj, co-founder and CEO of Sify.
Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com