A day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray assured investor friendly policy and regulatory framework in Maharashtra, the minister of state for information technology Satej Patil on Friday announced that the government, in a bid to compete with other states, will unveil policies for IT, IT enabled services, data centers, fintech and drones especially in Nagpur, Latur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Tier II and III cities. The government desires the investment should not merely focus on Mumbai and adjoining areas but spread across the state.
As far as attracting more investors in sunrise sectors such as fintech, Patil said the IT department is studying the best practices in the sector with a focus on government and regulatory support to formulate a new policy which aims to create the right kind of IT infrastructure. ‘’ The new IT Policy will encourage the technology companies for innovation to accelerate tech adoption and the promotion of the IT industry in the state. The policy, which is being drafted in consultation with NASSCOM and IT industry associations, will focus on the steps, incentives, tax rebates to attract IT, ITeS and IT-enabled companies in cities like Nagpur, Latur, Nashik and Aurangabad as IT companies are mostly focusing on Mumbai and Pune for setting up their units. The policy will provide the right kind of infrastructure, incentive and skill set,’’ he noted.
Patil said the government has been tapping the possibilities of use of technology to manage administrative activities including Covid pandemic related management, flood mitigation activities. He said that the government was also taking steps to ensure that IT plays an important role in daily lives of the common man by using e-governance initiatives like e-office, Maharashtra block chain sandbox among others. These policies will create the right ecosystem for technology companies.
According to the minister, the new Fintech policy will support the sector with an objective to convert Mumbai into a global fintech hub.
As the central government has launched its guidelines for the use of drones, the state government is planning to unveil its ‘Drone Policy’ to use drones in various sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and power, as well as monitoring floods, waterlogging, etc. During the pandemic, drone technology came as big support in monitoring quarantine, hotspot and covid-19 guidelines inspection. “In addition, drones will be a great enabler in the city like Mumbai during the rainy season not only for the inspection of drains and waterlogging but also for providing relief and food. It will also help in surveillance and security mechanisms in Mumbai as the city has several sensitive places like international airport, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,” he said.
