STPI has Proposed a Tier-III Data Centre at Gothapatana, Bhubaneswar, which will enable the Government/MNCs/Private organizations to hoist their public/private information/data to be used by users locally/globally along with facilities including central data repository, secure data storage, online delivery of services, citizen information/services portal, Intranet portal, disaster recovery, remote management and service integration etc.
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is an organization under Government of India, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India has been set up with a distinct focus for promotion of software and IT exports from the country. Since its inception in 1991, STPI has come a long way and become highly successful in its mission as catalyst in positioning India as the most preferred destination for outsourcing IT and IT enabled services. A fact that is aptly proven by the stupendous growth in IT exports, from Rs. 52 crores in 1992-93 to a staggering Rs. 2,93,481.00 Crs in 2014-15, which represents more than 60% share of National Software Exports. It is estimated that in 2014-15 the total revenue of the Indian IT/ITES industry was of the order of USD 146 billion contributing about 9.5 % to the GDP in 2014-15, as against only 1.2% in 1998-99. The sector is highly export intensive and about 70% of the total revenues is generated through exports. It is estimated that about 3.51 million people are directly employed in this sector- about 2,30,000 jobs were added in 2014-15.The STP and EHTP units also attracted a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Rs. 4000 crores in 2013-14.
The above statistics reveal that Govt. of India’s vision of making India as IT super power has been very successful through STPI.The concept of Software Technology Park has emanated from the need to provide infrastructure facilities such as High Speed Data Communication services, built up space and hi tech incubation facilities to nucleate growth of software exports. In fact, STPI have revolutionized the concept of cooperative competitiveness of the infrastructure facilities and capital equipments by the Software units in optimal, effective and efficient manner at an affordable cost. The concept has greatly helped the young entrepreneurs and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to kick start their operation with no waiting time and absolve them for making investments in creating captive infrastructure.
At present, STPI has 53 centers across the country including Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Berhampur in the State of Odisha and one more is under progress at Balasore. The Bhubaneswar Center of STPI is one of the premier centers established along with Bangalore and Pune in the year 1991.
Activities of STPI-Bhubaneswar
- Regulatory services.
STPI offers various incentives to the software exporters under the Software Technology Parks Scheme (STP). Some highlights of the scheme are given below:
- Project approval under single window clearance mechanism.
- 100% foreign equity permitted.
- 100% exemption on customs duty on import of capital goods.
- Total exemption on excise duty on indigenous procurement of capital goods.
- Permission for importing second hand capital goods.
- Full reimbursement of Central Sales Tax.
- The sales in domestic market are permissible up to 50% of the export.
STPI is carrying out various regulatory services for the 100% Export oriented Units under the Software Technology Park (STP) formulated by Govt. of India. STPI is acting as front end on behalf of the Govt. of India to take care of policies, approval and permission as well as acting as interface between industry and Govt.
It offers various services like project approvals, Import approval, Bonding, Export valuation and certification for the member STP units registered under STPI Bhubaneswar. In fact, this is as part of its mission to provide single point statutory services to the industry and STPI has been successful in creating a conducive and friendly environment by providing handholding and escorting facility to the entrepreneurs to make them flourish.
- Software Exports Promotion
STP Scheme has attracted many units and entrepreneurs in the area of software and services sector. Since inception, STPI-Bhubaneswar has come a long way in promoting IT industries in the state of Odisha. Today various ranges of industries starting from IT Majors, MNCs and SMEs are operational under STPI- Bhubaneswar.
STPI Bhubaneswar has made every effort for promoting and enhancing the export share from the state and the region. Over the years STPI has put new milestones in IT exports. Growth of IT Exports from the State.
The State of Odisha is in forefront has made significant progress in IT, both in exports as well as the domestic market, churning out IT professionals and creating quality IT infrastructure in the state. The export turnover of units registered under STPI Bhubaneswar alone has grown from virtually Nil during 1994-95 to Rs. 2564 Crore in 2014-15 with 11% growth thereby putting the State in the commendable position in IT map of the country. It is heartening to note that Odisha occupies a position within the first 10 leading Indian States in IT exports.
Growth of IT exports from Odisha/Bhubaneswar is higher than the national rate since 2006. It is significant that IT has climbed to third position in Sectoral exports from the State after Metallurgical & Engineering Products:
SERVICES OFFERED BY STPI-Bhubaneswar
- Incubation facility
STPI has set up incubating infrastructure and provides the facility based on the member unit requirement underlying the philosophy is to give one stop and non-stop services to the software industry and consequently leaving other mundane but important aspect of operationalisation to STPI.
STPI has set up Incubation Space and other general amenities especially for the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs). It is well equipped with all basic amenities like utility power, back up and captive power, Telephone, Security, Training aid, common reception and library which eliminate the capital investments by SMEs in facility creation.
Incubation Infrastructure:
- Modules
- Un-interrupted Power Supply with stand-by Gen. Set.
- EPABX, Access Control and all modern facilities
- High Speed Complex LAN
- Datacom Network Set up
- Leased Internet connectivity
- High Speed Data Communication facility
Recognizing the importance of efficient and reliable data communication facilities as a back bone of software exporting industry, STPI has established international gateways for providing global connectivity.
In these years STPI has proven itself as unconventional carrier catering the needs of software exporters, private ISPs, R&D institutes, corporate houses, foreign and UN establishments and various mission critical Govt. organizations.
- SoftPOINT – Point to Point leased lines. This facility is used to connect the leased line customers from destination in India to a destination abroad.
- SoftLINK – This facility is used as a shared TCP/IP global Internet connectivity.
- Promotional Activities
Besides its role for promoting the software exports, STPI has made every effort for spearheading its mission and propagating the scheme. In these years STPI has made various efforts to provide a forum for technological advancement by conducting series of workshops and seminars on current trend which are not only used to enhance corporate competency but also is becoming a driving force to update them in the changing IT scenario.
Other Initiatives:
Setting up of STPI IT Park at Bhubaneswar:
STPI is coming up with an ultra modern IT Park the structure of which is ready and we are in process of starting interior and site preparation. STPI is investing almost 100 crores in this Project which includes Hi-tech Incubation for IT Industries and 100 Rack Tier III Data Centre and other modern facilities.
The proposed STPI owned IT Park would house STPI’s own office, Network Operation Centre, Tier-III Data Centre and rest of the space will be converted as Incubation Space and other support facilities.
- Built up area for ready to use by the Software Entrepreneurs in modules.
- High Speed Data Communication Facility
- Data Centre (Tier-III)
- Test Lab for ESDM
- ESDM Incubation
- Software Library
- Common support services in HR & Finance
- Un-interrupted Power Supply with Gen. Set
- Convention Hall & Business Lounge
- Bank & ATM
- Conference & Training Halls (equipped with latest presentation aids)
- Cafeteria
- Guest Room, Gym & Employees’ Baby Care centre for Incubatees
Security (CCTV, ACCESS CONTROL & OTHER MODERN SECURIT).
Setting up of Semiconductor Characterization Lab:
Industries, TiE and other associations has requested STPI for setting up of an Electronics Hardware Technology Incubation facility at Bhubaneswar for ESDM Industry since STPI has played a significant role in the past decade to promote companies in IT Software and Electronic Hardware field through its flagship program STP & EHTP scheme.
Accordingly, to begin with, STPI-Bhubaneswar in support of State Govt. is setting up of Characterization Lab at Bhubaneswar in line with similar Project being carried out by STPI-Bangalore in Karnataka as a part of H/W Incubation programme. In the process of designing and manufacturing of semiconductors, the chips need to undergo validation for its reliability in the lab consisting ofvarious equipment known as ‘Semiconductor Characterization Lab.
Characterization Lab: The first few chips from the fabrication will be tested for its reliability by subjecting it to various mechanical, electrical and thermal stress conditions. This will be carried out before the mass production. The Lab will be set up inside the premises of IIIT-Bhubaneswar which will be an important milestone in ESDM sector and fostering growth of R & D in the Electronic Hardware and manufacturing.
Setting up of ESDM Incubation facility:
Recognizing the opportunity, it is proposed that STPI Bhubaneswar in association with IT Department, Govt. of Odisha, IIIT Bhubaneswar and IESA come together to synergize their strengths and competencies in making a humble contribution to this national cause by setting-up the first ESDM incubation centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha equipped with state-of-art facilities to promote ESDM innovation, R&D and IP creation. Accordingly, STPI-Bhubaneswar has prepared a DPR for setting up of ESDM Incubation Centre at Bhubaneswar similar to Electroentprenuer Park being implemented by STPI.
In order to select the target products and segments, as a first step Odisha should focus on the following proposed verticals:
- Energy
- Healthcare
- Process Control/ Industrial Automation
- Education
- Semiconductor Design (Will be made provision in future based on actual requirement of Incubatees)
Taking into consideration the typical nature and the overall potential of the Indian ESDM sector, the proposed model is called Electronics Incubation Centre for Start-Ups / MSMEs / Academia / Entrepreneur and New Business Development in ESDM Sector for which following infrastructure & facilities are envisaged.
- 7,500 sq. ft. Built up space with state of the art facilities designated for ESDM incubation
- State of the art ESDM Lab with equipment’s for prototyping and testing in the following areas:
- Power Electronics
- LED
- Communication
- RF
- Software
- Embedded hardware and software
- Test and measuring
Setting up of Tier III Data Center:
Considering, efficient and reliable storage of Data is vital requirement; STPI is coming up with a state-of-the-art Tier III Data Centre which will be integrated with STPI’s new building at Gothapatana, Bhubaneswar. The Proposed Tier-III Data Centre would operate from almost 7500 Sq. Ft area including 4500 Sq. Ft Server farm area where there is plan to install more than 100 Racks for storage of servers with uptime certified. This DC will enable the Government/MNCs/Private organizations to hoist their public/private information/data to be used by users locally/globally along with facilities including central data repository, secure data storage, online delivery of services, citizen information/services portal, Intranet portal, disaster recovery, remote management and service integration etc. with following features and services:
- Dedicated and Uptime certified Data Centre Rack Space for use of Corporate and Government organizations.
- Disaster Recovery (DR) Centre
- Deployment of Could Computing to offer services like SAAS through Cloud
- Dedicated Rack for High Performance Computing (HPC) for R & D and innovation under Next Gen Incubation concept.
- BiGData Analytics which would be a vital service which can have wider requirement for data analysis in the emerging areas like IoT and Smart city applications etc.
Bhubaneswar City Wi Fi Project:
Department of Electronics & IT, Govt. of Odisha has envisaged in creating Wi-Fi hot spot at specified locations across Bhubaneswar to make the city completely Wi-Fi enabled. The Scope of work enabling Bhubaneswar as a Wi-Fi city includes setting up, operation and maintenance of Wi-Fi Zones to provide wireless internet access to citizens and tourists using Wi-Fi enabled Laptops, mobile devices like cell phones and tabs etc. The Wi-Fi hotspots are to be set-up at various prominent locations in Bhubaneswar.
The deployment of Wi-Fi network in Bhubaneswar will enable the citizens to access the Internet at high speeds from desktop PCs, laptops, and Wi-Fi equipped handhelds. This will enable tourists, visitors, citizens access the Internet in public places like markets, shopping malls, stadiums, government buildings like city hall, library, and post office, leisure spaces like parks, waterfronts, convention centers, hotels, residential areas etc. Connectivity shall be offered to citizens for free for a specific time period. This will be addressing the issue of digital inclusion for economically disadvantaged citizens.
The City Wi Fi would also allow students and faculties to more effectively access news, conduct research, and take advantage of e-learning applications. Web-based collaboration allows for more effective interaction and involvement of parents with teachers regarding their children’s education.
Citizens and visitors can access the Internet at public transportation stations (Bus stops & terminals, Railway Stations, Airports) and in public transportation vehicles (buses, trains etc).
Apart from the above it is envisaged that the Bhubaneswar City Wi Fi System will be integrated with all E-Governance application to make available all citizen centric services at anywhere and everywhere to the Citizens of the city.
STPI-Bhubaneswar has prepared the DPR and successfully created Proof of Concepts (PoC) at six locations of the city.The City Wi-Fi system is expected to bring revolutionary change in city’s IT & Communication infrastructure and services. With all citizen centric services are envisaged to be integrated with the network, the project will fulfil the dream of making the city as Digital Bhubaneswar.
This will be an important constituent in the SMART city initiative and immensely contribute to enhance the “Brand Bhubaneswar” inside & outside the country. Eventually, the city Wi-Fi system will enable the citizens for seamless access of information and services and serve the society at large and contribute to socio-economic development.
Conclusion:
STP-Bhubaneswar has planned a number of new initiatives which would help in revolutionizing changes in the IT sector of the state. With active support from the Central and State Govt. STPI is successful in its endeavor, contributing to a greater visibility which State of Odisha enjoys today in IT sector of the State.
