Hardware cluster planned in Hyderabad

In a bid to give a fillip to hardware manufacturing in India, Software
Technology Parks of India (STPI) said it was proposing to set up a
2,000-acre hardware cluster in Hyderabad.
Based on the Union ministry of Information Technology & Communications
(IT&C) directions, STPI said it has written to the state government
requesting land allotment for the proposed project.
“We were asked by the Union ministry to approach respective state
governments regarding land allotment to set up hardware clusters. The
idea is to build ready-to-occupy infrastructure facility, much similar
to STPI model, for hardware manufacturers.
We are seeking 2,000 acres in and around Hyderabad,” said P Venugopal,
managing director, STPI.
He added that STPI's existing promotional activity for electronic
hardware manufacturers limits them to allot land for individual
companies.
"By setting up a hardware cluster, we will create an ecosystem
including production facilities for companies to come and set up
operations on a plug-and-play model," he explained.
While Fabcity, promoted by the state government, only allots land, the
proposed hardware cluster built by STPI would include building the
facility for companies besides offering additional tax benefits.
“We are yet to identify the investment potential, nature of hardware
manufacturing activity that can be undertaken from the proposed
cluster.
A team is already preparing a feasibility report and we would get
clarity once it's done,” Venugopal said. Meanwhile, Ponnala
Lakshmaiah, I&T minister assured support to set up a hardware cluster.
“We have just heard of the proposal. While we are yet to study the
request, we are willing to provide land for prospective hardware
producers planning to set up manufacturing plants anywhere in the
state.”