HYDERABAD: Minister for Information Technology KT Rama Rao on Saturday announced that Hyderabad has overtaken Bengaluru in office space absorption in the first quarter of 2019-20.
“I had earlier said Hyderabad would overtake Bengaluru in office space absorption this year. As per latest updates, Hyderabad has already beaten Bengaluru in the first quarter,” Rama Rao said during the Question Hour on Saturday.
Leasing activity has touched 12.8 million sqft in the first quarter, increasing marginally by about three per cent. Supply addition touched 13.4 million sqft in Hyderabad, followed by Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai, Rama Rao said.
“Due to good and friendly governance in Telangana, Hyderabad is faring better than Bengaluru in the IT sector. Top international companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple have set up their units in Hyderabad instead of Bengaluru,” he said.
Rama Rao lashed out at the Congress party which had said in spite of being close to the NDA government at the Centre, the TRS government was unable to establish Information Technology and Investment Region (ITIR) in Hyderabad.
“Even with no ITIR, the government has continued with its effort of creating new IT clusters and attracting new investments in IT, creating employment opportunities for the State’s youth,” he said.
He also pointed out that the ITIR for Hyderabad and other cities was sanctioned by the previous UPA government in November 2013, just months before its term would expire.
He was reacting to criticism by Congress leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka who had earlier also said because of the absence of ITIR, Hyderabad had lost a lot of investments and new employment opportunities.
“Also the project would have boosted tax revenues of the State up to Rs 30,170 crore, IT revenue potential to Rs 2.19 lakh crore, IT exports to Rs 2.35 lakh crore and so on,” Bhatti had said. Bhatti wanted the State government to pass a resolution in the Assembly, seeking ITIR for Telangana. He said that ITIR, upon completion in 20 years, would provide 1.54 million direct jobs and 5.04 million indirect jobs in Phase I and II.
Meanwhile, Rama Rao said Hyderabad’s software and IT exports in 2018-19 had registered a growth of 17 per cent, while the national average was about 13 per cent; Bengaluru’s grew at seven to eight per cent. “This reflects the progressive growth of the IT sector in Telangana,” he said.
“What the Congress party was unable to do in 55 years, we has done in five,” he said.