AHMEDABAD: In a bid to spur growth in the Information Technology (IT) sector in Gujarat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday announced that land would be made available by the government to companies working in the IT sector.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony of Vibrant Gujarat Start-up and IT Summit, Rupani also announced that the sector would be given the status of an industry in the state, which would help companies set up shop in Gujarat. However, it was not clear if land would be made available to companies at subsidised rates or free of cost.
“We have decided to give the status of industry to the IT sector. Our government will provide land to the companies that want to come to Gujarat” said Rupani.
Speaking on start-ups, industries department officials said that the state government was supporting 184 start-ups and their target was to have 2,000 start-ups by the year 2021. The industries department spends Rs 15-20 lakh on each new credible innovation, and the projected cost of spending on start-ups by 2021 is Rs 7,000 crore.
The event was attended by Chad Hensler, trade commissioner of Canada, who spoke about his country’s start-up visa programme. Canada offers permanent residency to entrepreneurs who have secured funding from angel investors in Canada or from a list of 26 business incubators.