Hyderabad, February 25: In a bid to give a fillip to hardware manufacturing in India, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) said it was proposing to set up a 2,000-acre hardware cluster in Hyderabad.
Based on the Union ministry of Information Technology & Communications (IT&C) directions, STPI said it has written to the state government requesting land allotment for the proposed project.
“We were asked by the Union ministry to approach respective state governments regarding land allotment to set up hardware clusters. The idea is to build ready-to-occupy infrastructure facility, much similar to STPI model, for hardware manufacturers.
We are seeking 2,000 acres in and around Hyderabad,” said P Venugopal, managing director, STPI.
He added that STPI’s existing promotional activity for electronic hardware manufacturers limits them to allot land for individual companies.
“By setting up a hardware cluster, we will create an ecosystem including production facilities for companies to come and set up operations on a plug-and-play model,” he explained.
While Fabcity, promoted by the state government, only allots land, the proposed hardware cluster built by STPI would include building the facility for companies besides offering additional tax benefits.
“We are yet to identify the investment potential, nature of hardware manufacturing activity that can be undertaken from the proposed cluster.
A team is already preparing a feasibility report and we would get clarity once it’s done,” Venugopal said. Meanwhile, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, I&T minister assured support to set up a hardware cluster.
“We have just heard of the proposal. While we are yet to study the request, we are willing to provide land for prospective hardware producers planning to set up manufacturing plants anywhere in the state.”
–Agencies