From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: STPI and thier functioning
Mains level: Role of STPI in facilitating start-ups and IT industries
Government of India has given 4 months’ Rental Waiver to the IT Companies Operating from Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Centers.
STPI which witness multi-million transactions every day are the most promising workplaces for startups in India. They have gained popularity not among Indians, but also on an international platform for its state of the art infrastructure, world-class working conditions and amenities. We can expect a mains question like “Discuss the role of STPIs in making India a hub of ITeS exports”.
Why this waiver?
- The rental waiver will provide relief to the industry in this crisis situation emerged due to COVID19 pandemic.
- Most of these units are either Tech MSMEs or startups.
- This effort is also in the larger interest of around 3,000 IT/ ITeS employees who are directly supported by these units.
What are STPI?
- An STPI is a society established in 1991 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- The objective of an STPI is to encourage, promote and boost the export of software from India.
- STPI maintains internal engineering resources to provide consulting, training and implementation of IT-enabled services.
STPI Scheme
- The STP Scheme is a 100 per cent Export Oriented Scheme for the development and export of computer software, including export of professional services using communication links or physical media.
- This scheme is unique in its nature as it focuses on one product/sector, i.e. computer software.
- The scheme integrates the government concept of 100 per cent Export Oriented Units (EOU) and Export Processing Zones (EPZ) and the concept of Science Parks / Technology Parks, as operating elsewhere in the world.
Who can get a floor on STPI?
- An Indian company
- A subsidiary of a foreign company
- A branch office of a foreign company
Features of the STPI
- The STP Scheme provides various benefits to the registered units, including 100% foreign equity, tax incentives, duty-free import, duty-free indigenous procurement, CST reimbursement, DTA entitlement, and deemed exports.
- STPI centres also provide a variety of services including high-speed data communication, incubation facilities, consultancy, network monitoring, data centres and data hosting.
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