The Hindu Business Line : AP to set up 1,200-acre hardware park

AFTER years of focus on software services and ITES companies, the State Government is now turning attention to the hardware sector. The State Government has identified 1,200 acres of land for promoting the hardware sector to woo companies, along with plans to locate few special economic zones for IT companies.

The Chief Minister Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said this separate facility would be complemented with support infrastructure that would attract companies to look at Andhra Pradesh for setting up hardware facilities.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the three-day Gitex expo, the fifth edition of the flagship IT event here today, Dr Reddy said the State believes that its focus on strengthening infrastructure such as airport, outer ring road and creation of special zones while providing dedicated supply of power, would help woo more companies and thereby help the State scale up from the current fifth slot in overall IT and ITES exports.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has initiated work on the Rs 3,000-crore outer ring road project, and work on the satellite townships would begin shortly. This, coupled with the focus on strengthening the manpower base, would be a compelling proposition for IT companies.

The ongoing initiatives will be complemented by an international airport and a Metro Rail System, to be completed within 3-4 years, making Hyderabad an ideal destination for both software and hardware.

Even though the State churns out a large number of engineers and is a base for talent pool, all of them are not industry ready. This calls for special focus on fine-tuning their skills. The Jawahar Knowledge Centres seek to bridge this gap.

IBM has also partnered with the Jawahar Knowledge Centres providing software and tools and valuable inputs and the contributions of companies like Satyam Computer Services Ltd, in reaching out education, and also locating remote processing centres in noteworthy. "We expect soon other companies would follow suit," he said.