Maharashtra government will provide incentives to set up IT projects in tier-2, tier-3 cities: Minister

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government will provide incentives to the information technology (IT) sector for setting up projects in tier-2 and tier-3 cities such as Nagpur, Amravati, Latur and Satara to reduce the burden on Mumbai and Pune, Maharashtra Minister Satej Patil said. Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Merchants Chambers (IMC) on Thursday, the minister of state for information technology and home said the government also plans to launch a healthcare platform, which will connect public health centres, civic hospitals and medical colleges in rural areas and cities.

Patil participated in ‘Engage Maharashtra, Reboot, Reform, Resurge Roundtable Conference’ organised by the IMC, Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The minister spoke about the initiatives the state government had taken for the IT sector and assured full-fledged support to industrialists engaged in the sector.

Maharashtra has been at the forefront in the IT sector and the state government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will ensure that it leads from the front, Patil said during the virtual conference.

Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad have been proven as IT hubs and the human resources available in these cities have helped keep the state on top in the sector, he said. “The state government, through its company MahaIT, has undertaken and implemented many key projects using technology. We disbursed loan waivers to more than 30 lakh farmers last year, while 30 lakh students are benefitting from the scholarships transferred directly to their bank accounts,” the minister said.

The state government wants to spread the IT culture established in big cities to smaller cities, he said.

“Mumbai and Pune have been leading in the IT sector and are saturated because of migration. We now want to take this progress to tier-2 and tier-3 cities such as Nagpur, Satara, Amravati, Latur, Nanded, among others by giving incentives to the industries. Industries will be helped with facilities such as electricity and other infrastructural necessities through a separate IT policy,” the minister said.

Patil further said the state IT department was rolling out a platform to address the healthcare needs of people.

“We will connect local district authorities with hospitals and clinics so that people get their health issues addressed within minutes. We have connected 12,000 Gram Panchayats and 25 districts and cities with optical fibre-enabled internet using Mahanet and Bharatnet platforms,” he said.

The state government was open to recommendations and suggestions from the IT industry stakeholders, the minister added.

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