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T.E. Raja Simhan

Bangalore, June 10 Bhutan is the latest in the South Asian region wanting to take advantage of the information technology boom to provide employment to a large number of graduates and improve e-governance initiatives. It has sought the help of India’s IT industry to venture into the sector.

The Bhutan government will spend nearly Rs 200 crore in the next five years on IT infrastructure, including a nationwide broadband network costing Rs 100 crore. It will also spend money on IT education and IT systems, according to Mr Tenzin Chhoeda, Director, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Information and Communications, Bhutan.

Bhutan, one of the youngest democracies in the world, is constructing an IT park in the capital Thimpu at a cost of $8 million. This will be developed in a private public partnership model with the Government investing half the amount. The balance amount will be brought in by a private developer, who will also bring tenants into the park, he told Business Line on the sidelines of a two-day Nasscom BPO Strategy Summit.

“We hope some of the leading Indian IT companies will come to Bhutan which will provide attractive tax benefits. We will be on par or better than other countries in the region in offering the incentives. We are working on the IT policy,” he said.

A nine-member delegation led by the Bhutanese Minister for Information and Communication, Mr Nandalal Rai, is in India on a week-long tour of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi to get a feel of India’s IT industry. The delegation was at the Nasscom summit, and will visit IT companies and academic institutions, Mr Chhoeda said.

There is no IT player in Bhutan. But the IT park will provide employment to around 700 people, and enable future IT investments in the country, he added.

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