The Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad (IIT-Hyderabad), in the state of Telangana, recently inaugurated a 150,000 square foot Technology Research Park to help bridge the gap between industry and academia. The technology park aims to provide infrastructure and facilities for industry partners to set up research and technology development centres on the IIT-Hyderabad campus.
The IN₹750 million (US$10 million) park was funded by the Union Ministry of Education and will feature state-of-the-art facilities. This includes 11 individual towers of different levels connected with corridors and a laboratory complex comprising seven footprint blocks interconnected with covered corridors. According to reports, the Secretary of the Department of Science of Technology, Srivari Chandrasekhar, inaugurated the facility. At the event, he stated that the government of India is committed to technological development as presented by the Financial Minister during the Budget 2022. He added that Hyderabad has a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The TRP (Technology Research Park) and TIP (Technology Incubation Park) buildings created by IIT-Hyderabad are testimonial facilities for those who cannot work at home. He urged the country’s youth to “go from job-seekers to job-givers and all premier institutes to work on non-software technologies”. An official said that the technology park will support strong and long-term industry-IIT-H collaborations, helping India become self-reliant. The park is also expected to foster international relations with several global industries.
In the 2020-21 financial year, the information technology industry in Telangana clocked exports worth IN₹1.45 trillion (US$19.4 billion). The value of software exports from the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) units is expected to be at over IN₹5 trillion (US$67 billion) during FY22, slightly higher than the previous year, according to the Director-General of STPI. The safety protocols activated during the previous waves of COVID have resulted in the adoption of an effective remote working model, and the digital nature of work has enabled STPI units to maintain continuity of services without disruption. As per a news report, as many as 4,689 units are registered under the SPTI scheme.
STPI is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It was established to encourage, promote, and boost software exports from India. It aims to fuel a culture of tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the country by launching over 25 centres of entrepreneurship in emerging technology domains. It is one of the largest tech incubators in India with an area of about 1.3 million square feet spread across various tier 1, 2, and 3 cities. It also assisted the formulation of the India BPO Promotion Scheme 2.0.
India aims to transform its US$75 billion electronics manufacturing sector into a US$7300 billion electronics manufacturing powerhouse by 2026. The STPI’s Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme will help achieve this target. It promotes IT and IT-enabled services exports from the country by providing single-window regulatory services under STP and Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) schemes, plug and play incubation facilities for start-up companies and young entrepreneurs, and high-speed data communication services for seamless access to offshore IT/ITES exports.