After Mohali in Punjab, decks have been cleared for Amritsar to be the next Information Technology (IT). It is expected that this act will prove to be a growth engine for the holy city and also provide opportunity to teach children the technical know-how of manufacturing various products, like mobile, computer, TV, digital watch, etc. The staff will also help entrepreneurs to sell and market their products.
The Software Technology Park of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, had allocated IT projects for Mohali and Amritsar in 2012 during the SAD-BJP regime.
After an year-long search, a chunk of land measuring 2.72 acre was also demarcated for the project at the New Industrial Focal Point on the Vallah road on September 23, 2013.
A month later, the possession, too, was handed over to the STPI by the Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation (PSIEC), and the Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Parsad had laid the foundation stone on November 1, 2016. Nonetheless, it got delayed due to technical hitch in sanctioning the building plans.
A grant of Rs 20 crore has been sanctioned for the project. A multi-storey building proposed to be spread in 30,000 sq meter area will be constructed under the project which will house multinational companies. 75 per cent of the area will be for IT development and its allied activities whereas 25 per cent has been earmarked for other commercial activities, reported The Tribune.
