Hyderabad|India|January'2010: The Chief Minister K Rosaiah reiterated his assurance to the IT/ITES industry that the State Government will do “everything possible” to provide security and protect their interests. He told the IT industry captains that they need not have an iota of doubt about this and the Government and Police will take all necessary measures possible to see that the IT industry maintains its most essential “business continuity”, particularly on the occasion of bandh and other disturbances. He said he would also make an appeal in this regard.

The Chief Minister gave a patient hearing to the CEOs and Chiefs of all leading IT/ITES companies, both small and big, MNCs and local operating from Hyderabad. He said he had already assured the industrialists and businessmen the other day that all possible steps will be taken to provide security to their establishments and staff. He said he would request other parties also to reassure the IT companies accordingly. The Chief Minister said Andhra Pradesh continues to be the most preferred destination of the IT companies and the State government is aware of this. He said all their apprehensions will be taken care of and they need not worry about security aspects.

The CEOs of the IT industry said that this sector provides 2.3 lakh direct and 8 lakh indirect employment in the State with a total annual turnover of more than Rs.31,000 crores and accounts for 15% of the total IT revenue generation. There are more than 1300 IT & ITES companies in A.P. and is the country’s 4th largest destination.

The industry contributed to the extensive development of infrastructure in the State. They said that the recent disturbances in the State resulted in the loss of man hours as most of these bandhs resulted in the disruption of critical operations and there are concerns from the principles. They said that Hyderabad today has world renowned industries like Cognizant, HSBC, GENPACT, ADP, Infotech, Microsoft, TCS etc. They sought reassurance from the Government to have the business continuity, safety and security for their staff and to their establishments.

The DGP said that a IG rank officer (Mr. Krishna Prasad, IPS) will exclusively look after the IT and industry security concerns. A dedicated telephone number, dedicated website etc. have been put in place to help the industry. A task force is separately created to help the industry in the shortest possible time, he said.

Chief Secretary, S V Prasad, DGP R R Girish Kumar, Addl. DG, Law and Order, A.K.Khan, Addl. DG, Intelligence, Mahender Reddy, Commissioners of Police, Hyderabad and Cyberabad, Adviser, IT, C S Rao, other Senior IAS and IPS Officers attended the meeting.

Reachout's News Bureau
January' 2010