After Mohali, STPI to expand reach in North

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 18

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups are likely to get a shot in the arm, as the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is expanding its footprint in the northern region. Having set up its facility at Mohali in 2016, it is expanding its presence in Amritsar, Shimla and Panchkula.

According to data, tier-II and tier-III cities have a huge potential. The software exports from Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula which was around Rs 7 crore in 1998 touched Rs 4,400 crore in 2017-18.

According to experts, with rising costs in tier-I cities, moving to tier-II and tier-III cities has become essential to maintain competitiveness.

The STPI’s Mohali incubation facility was built at a cost of Rs 60 crore and is spread over nearly 1.40 lakh sq ft of built-up space and is touted as the country’s largest incubation facility. The Punjab government has also approved a grant of Rs 10 crore for a startup hub at the STPI’s centre in Mohali.

“Our upcoming facility at Amritsar will be spread across 40,000 sq ft. Already, 60% of the civil work has been completed and we expect it to be operational by June,” STPI director Rajneesh Aggarwal told The Tribune on the sidelines of TieCon 2019, which was held in Mohali last week.

He said the Haryana government has given three acres for setting up a facility in Panchkula. “The work on the proposed centre at Panchkula will start soon. In addition to this, we are also expanding our reach in Shimla. It will be spread over 15,000 sq ft,” he added.

The STPI will create IT office space, high-speed data connectivity, data centre, and other amenities required for exporting software and professional services.

Aggarwal said the STPI is setting up a centre of excellence for Blockchain at Gurugram. Punjab will also have one of the seven centres of excellence for artificial intelligence at the STPI, Mohali, which will offer services related to data analytics, audio visual graphics and Internet of Things (IoT).

“The CoE will be created with the support of the state government in the startup hub at Mohali. It will cater to all needs of new ventures,” STPI-Mohali additional director Ajay P Shrivastava said.

The centres will cater to startups, researchers, faculties and budding entrepreneurs working in these areas. 

Software exports from region

2017-18: Rs 4,400 crore

2016-17: Rs 3,876 crore

.