Bhopal: Eying Rs 2K Cr Investment, New IT Policy Offers Soaps For Data Centres

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The state government, in its Information Technology Policy-2023, has pitched the opportunity to the private players to invest in the state by establishing the Data Centres.

The Data Centres today are like banks- the backbone of the state economy. Madhya Pradesh though has its own Data Centre, is also hoisting its data in centres located in other states as well as in the foreign countries. As per the officials of the Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation, the IT policy 2023 is targeting investment of Rs 2000 crores and creation of 600 jobs through data centres.

If the state has more data centres, it can offer more online services for the betterment of the people of the state, said the officials. Besides, the data centres will also help in storing the government data and as the centres will be located physically in the state and thus the data will be in safe hands, said the officials, adding it will also act like servers. The data centres may attract more industries related to online processing to the state.   Speaking about the significance of the data centres, MPSEDC assistant director, Nikhil Dubey told Free Press that Madhya Pradesh has potential for setting up Disaster Recovery Centres because of the Low Risk Seismic Zone. As localization of data is the upcoming trend and thus opportunity for Edge DCs and Low latency – the central location of the state is advantageous.  

Offers on the card

Capital assistance... Power/ electricity related assistance, reimbursement of patent expenses, ISO certification, stamp duty and RC, Non Fiscal Assistance are proposed for setting up data centres in the new IT policy. Power assistance.....

Reimbursement of power tariff @ INR 2/unit for first 5 Data Centre and INR 1/unit for others for 5 yrs; 100% Electricity Duty Exemption for 5 years, 50% reimbursement for transmission and wheeling charges, Availability of RE under open access system within the State, Dual Power Grid availability. – Other Assistance.............

Installation of chillers on the rooftops without inclusion in FAR - subject to safety and clearance of Airport Authority, 24X7 Uninterrupted water supply in any area of the development authority, Classification under Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), Infrastructure Status as per circulars and notifications issued by Ministry of Finance, GoI. Land Related Provisions................

Term of lease will be 99 years

Rebates on guideline rates as per area- Up to 1 acre – 75%, 1 to 5 acres – 50% , > 5 acres – 25%. Land utilisation should be a minimum of 50% for IT/ITeS/ DC units and min. 33% for ESDM to be eligible to claim incentives in this policy. 

General principle open tender/auction, First Come First Serve for special cases through CCIP, Change of ownership permitted with approval from Nodal Agency and on payment of prescribed fees.