By Arpita Bisoi

Bhubaneswar : The journey of STPI is synonymous with the evolution of IT industry in India. The first historic event that heralded the genesis of IT Industry in India was the establishment of three Software Technology Parks at Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru and Pune in 1989. Consequently, on 5th June 1991, these three STPs were merged to create a single entity Software Technology Parks of India.

Close to 3 Decades of unflinching service to nation in making India an IT Superpower may seem insignificant in the journey of human civilization. But this short span has transformed a nation from a sober economic performer to a global leader in technology revolution and the fastest emerging economy in the world. As incredible as it may sound, STPI has been the beacon of such journey that has marvelled the global stakeholders many a times.

Today, the US$191 billion IT industry, comprising around 18,000-plus firms that directly employ 4.36 million strong workforce, that contributes 8.0% of GDP is a testimony to the STPI’s resolute performance in transforming Indian IT industry into global outsourcing destination for software exports. Another feather to this cap is that the exports clocked by STP-registered units stands at Rs 4,21,103 crore during 2019-20. In last 3 decades, the determined efforts of STPI in promoting IT industry in global platforms and boosting software exports essentially reflect STPI’s commitment towards economic progress of the nation.

As a policy enabler, STPI has been bringing out futuristic schemes apropos the technological advancements. Having a vision for transforming India into a product nation, STPI has been activating multiple initiatives under “National Policy on Software Products” approved by government of India recently. To enable the Indian IT industry to face the challenges of Industry 4.0 and build India’s leadership in emerging technology areas like IoT, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented & Virtual Reality, FinTech, Medical Electronics, Health Informatics, Gaming & Animation, Machine Learning, Data Science & Analytics, Cyber Security, Chip Designing, ESDM etc. STPI is embarked on setting up 21+ domain-centric Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in collaborative manner across India. These CoEs will enable a pan India vibrant tech startup ecosystem in times to come.

(On the occasion of 29th Foundation Day of STPI)