The State Government is coming up with the policies on Global Capability Centre (GCC) and semiconductor in the coming months, which will position West Bengal as the next IT destination of India, said Babul Supriyo, minister of information technology & electronics at the 23rd edition of ICT East, organised by CII Eastern Region in Kolkata here today.

The minister further stated that in the coming years, West Bengal is aspiring to be the next IT hub in India, by facilitating the environment for the technological companies through various steps viz., 15 per cent floor area ratio allowed to IT and ITES companies, 100 per cent electric duty waiver, 100 per cent waiver of stamp duty and registration cost and exemption of 50 per cent property tax. The working hours from 8.5 hours to 9 hours for IT and ITES companies is helping the companies to increase their revenue. Furthermore, he said that the state government is trying to address all the areas, and the industry captains should also build the perception for West Bengal.

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Rajeev Kumar, IPS, additional chief secretary, department of information technology & electronics emphasised that technology should be focused on solving problems and creating value for the citizens. Entrepreneurs are taking the first step to solve the problems through emerging technologies and as in the last few months, the West Bengal government is coming up with a Global Capability Centre (GCC) and semiconductor unit to create a digital public infrastructure. The draft policy of GCC and semiconductor will be coming soon, and private entrepreneurs must build around this digital public infrastructure. The new policies will enhance the state of the ICT sector.

Prosenjit Sengupta, chairman, CII Eastern Region ICTE sub-committee asserted that IT spending in India is estimated to record a double-digit growth of 11.1 per cent in 2024, totalling US$ 138.6 billion up from US$ 124.7 billion last year. India’s IT industry is likely to hit the US$ 350 billion mark by 2026 and contribute 10 per cent towards the country’s GDP, as per a report by Infomerics Ratings.