After Infosys, Amazon to set up facility in Vizag

Visakhapatnam: Not to be dented by poor performance in IT exports from Andhra Pradesh, captains of IT industry from the State which was formed following bifurcation in 2014, are optimistic that there will be a lot to cheer in the New Year with major players coming forward to open their facilities in Visakhapatnam and other tier II and III cities across the State.

Even after dismal performance in software exports from Andhra Pradesh during 2021-22, Amazon Development Centre (India) Private Limited has decided to make a modest beginning by launching a facility in Visakhapatnam, considered the IT capital of Andhra Pradesh.

In a tweet, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) stated that Amazon will make a beginning with an initial investment of Rs 55.65 lakh and employment of 120 with a projected export of Rs 184.12 crore in next three years. STPI sources said Amazon has decided to strengthen its operations in phases depending on the response.

When contacted, IT Association of Andhra Pradesh (ITAAP) president Sreedhar Kosaraju told Bizz Buzz that they are confident of romping in of several biggies in the New Year so as to give a shot in the arm to efforts to make Visakhapatnam into a prominent IT hub.

The general feeling among investors in Andhra Pradesh is that before bifurcation of the State, Hyderabad-centric approach led to under-exploration of the true potential of Visakhapatnam. Many feel that the natural beauty of Visakhapatnam with valleys and beaches make Visakhapatnam an ideal destination to become an IT hub. "After Infosys, we are trying to bring in several big ticket projects to our State," IT and Industries Minister Gudivada Amarnath, who is from Visakhapatnam, said.

At present, Visakhapatnam has operations by Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Conduent, Miracle City, Patra India, WNS, Fluentgrid and Cyient. Adani Group has been allotted 130 acres in the city for establishing a data park with an estimated investment of Rs 14,500 crore.

Telangana stands third in software export

However, Andhra Pradesh has not put up a good show in software exports during last year maybe due to fallout of the pandemic and absence of big players, which is a prerequisite to have a good ecosystem. Software exports from India exceeded Rs 11.59 lakh crore whereas Andhra Pradesh accounted for only Rs 1290 crore, according to Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

In reply to a question by Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao, the Minister stated that the value of software exports from India in 2021-22 included exports from Indian IT and Business Process Management (IT and BPM) sectors.

Of the total software exports, units registered under STPI accounted for Rs 6.29 lakh crore and units registered under SEZ accounted for the balance Rs 5.3 lakh crore. The States with the highest software exports are Karnataka (Rs 3.96 lakh crore), Maharashtra (Rs 2.37 lakh crore) and Telangana (Rs 1.81 lakh crore).

In comparison, Andhra Pradesh accounted for only Rs 1256 crore, which was just 0.1 per cent of the value of exports from India, the Minister pointed out. Visakhapatnam city with a large number of prestigious universities and technical institutions contributed to IT/ITes exports to the tune of just Rs 776 crore.

Commenting on the pathetic state of the IT sector's export performance from Andhra Pradesh, MP GVL stated that "The YSRCP Government has totally neglected the IT sector in Andhra Pradesh which resulted in the software sector's pathetic performance. It is shocking that Andhra Pradesh, which leads the country and the world in providing the most successful and capable IT manpower, is completely absent from the IT sector."