After Vedanta's investment, Gujarat to get 3000 IT jobs from Tech Mahindra

On Tuesday, union minister of state for IT and electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced a Rs 1500 crore fund by high net worth individuals to finance startups to power what he dubbed Gujarat’s Techade. The development came in a sequence of events as part of Gujarat’s tech push, which has resulted in the state bagging Vendanta Foxconn’s semiconductor plant instead of Maharashtra. As Prime Minister Modi’s home state moves ahead to build a fintech city as well, IT major Tech Mahindra has announced plans to hire 3000 people from Gujarat.

What the agreement means for Gujarat

The announcement was made after the tech firm signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the Gujarat government, as part of the state’s policy for IT services. The agreement is one of 15 MoUs signed by Gujarat with domestic and foreign firms to create more than 26,000 opportunities for techies in the state. Tech Mahindra is aiming to address changing engineering requirements of businesses in an age of digitisation with this move. MoUs are agreements which set the tone for common actions by both parties, but aren’t usually legally binding.

Gujarat’s IT push at Maharashtra’s expense?

Investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in Dholera is already being touted as a boost for creation of a digital economy in Gujarat, and the state’s Finance Tec-City (GIFT) is also set to have India’s first International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). Before the outrage about Vedanta’s Rs 1.54 lakh crore microchip factory going to Gujarat instead of Maharashtra, the state government under the VBA had blamed the central government for snatching IFSC from Maharashtra. The financial services centre meant for Mumbai failed to take off after a financial special economic zone was denied for the city by the central government.

Apart from IFSCA, major firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have already opened up operational bases in GIFT city. It’s fourth phase is set to be completed in 2024, about 12 years after construction begin in 2012, after the concept was finalised in 2007.