Bhubaneswar – Fast Catching up with Bangalore as IT Hub
Bhubaneswar, or more commonly known as a city of temples that’s both scenic and quiet in nature is a pit stop for tourists enroute to Puri. But all that has changed now. From being the fastest growing software hub of Eastern India, to numerous possibilities for startups by the government, this slumbering city ranks 3rd in the nation in terms of ease of business and potential growth according to the World Bank.
Speaking of which NASSCOM has also upgraded this city to Tier-II city that can promise a 30% growth in the IT space of India!
There is a common perception that life could be better only in metro cities, but India’s tier-II cities are developing fast and offering opportunities for growth. One such example is Bhubaneswar- With several institutes of higher education, including an IIT, the city is slowly setting the foundation for becoming a hub for research and technology startups in the eastern region.Â
British market research agency Juniper Research has listed Bhubaneswar among the top 20 best performing smart cities in the world, reported the Indian daily Telegraph.
The study, titled Global Smart City Performance Index-2017, Bhubaneswar was judged along with other cities in the world, including Singapore, London, San Francisco, Berlin, Dubai, Barcelona, Melbourne, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and San Diego, where Bhubaneswar finished in 19th place overall.
Bhubaneswar is the only Indian city to be included in the list. The study focused on four broad areas such as mobility, health, safety, and productivity, Bhubaneswar ranked 13th on the safety parameter while it came at 20th spot on mobility, health and productivity.
Bangalore became the silicon valley of India and is now followed by Pune, but Bhubaneswar is catching up to all of it quiet aggressively since it has the most stable government (with the fourth time in a row) that wants startups to flourish. In 2017, Odisha’s Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik announced a new policy with a slew of incentives for start-ups to be located in Bhubaneswar and many startups have been chosen for the same.
India’s top IT companies, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, and Tech Mahindra have set up centres in Bhubaneswar to take advantage of the promised tech infrastructure and business-friendly policies.
Till now Odisha has only exported talent and Bangalore is a living example, where you keep bumping into Odia software engineers, CEOs and Directors. In many ways, Bhubaneswar’s ambition to become one of India’s top three tech hubs, alongside Bengaluru and Delhi, deserves to be taken the most seriously.
Bhubaneswar Is The Emerging Startup Destination Of India
The Startup culture is in its epitome in Bhubaneswar and currently has a lot of new and bigger opportunities than in the past.
Current IT Scenario & Growth of IT exports at Bhubaneswar
A land of opportunities, Bhubaneswar has already scaled enviable heights of achievements in IT exports, churning out IT professionals, creating IT infrastructure etc. The export turnover of STPI Bhubaneswar has grown from nil during 1994-95 to a staggering Rs. 1800 Crores in 2012-13 by putting the State in a commendable position in IT map of the country. It is heartening to note that State of Odisha has achieved 10th position among the Indian States in IT exports.
Odisha is the only destination in the Eastern India where all four IT majors such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam have set up their Development Centres.
Ironically Bhubaneswar was among first three cities along with Pune & Bangalore where Govt. of India had established STPI centres during the year 1991.
Talent pool
The State of Orissa has 16 Universities, more than 100 engineering colleges and a good no. Schools offering MCA and MBA courses. There are more than 1000 government, affiliated and private degree colleges offering BA, B.Com and B.Sc courses. These colleges together produce over 40,000 professionally qualified technical and management graduates and some 50,000 general graduates.
Bhubaneswar is emerging as a hub for technical and management education. Many reputed MNCs recruit sizable number of entry-level work-force from Bhubaneswar and other cities like Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur and Balasore;
The presence of Centers of Excellence like IIT Bhubaneswar, IIIT Bhubaneswar, NISER Bhubaneswar, National Law School Cuttack, Central University Koraput has taken the standard of education to a very high level. These institutes provide mentoring to their counterparts to help them come up the ladder of excellence in education, teaching methodology, grooming of faculty and students as well as research.
Industrial Climate/ Business Potential
Endowed with rich mineral resources and surplus power, the State has attracted investment intentions to the tune of over US$100 billion to be spread over next 7-10 years in sectors like metals, petrochemicals, power, IT, hospitality and higher education. Business conglomerates like Tatas, Aditya Birla, Vedanta Group, POSCO, Reliance ADAG have made Odisha their destination of Choice.
These investments in turn would create newer opportunities and market for local IT industries. Odisha, with its abundant mineral and IT resources, a long coastline, excellent infrastructure, investor friendly Government policies and programmes, skilled workforce, political stability and warm and hospitable people is destined to become the destination of choice for the most discerning investors.
Today, the state has caught the eyeball of the business world and is home to several Indian and global industry leaders who have found their preferred turf to take on the world from here.
Government Support
The state government currently provides funding, mentorship and incubation support to startups, in order to create a conducive ecosystem for investors and other stakeholders as well.
The Government of Odisha has been working aggressively towards making Odisha the foremost startup hub of the country. It entered into a partnership with Invest India to provide professional support for strengthening the local startup ecosystem in the state and bring it at par with global standards.
Many more reputed IT companies are in the process of setting up of their units in Bhubaneswar. This reflects the immense faith reposed by national and international investors in the State and the Capital City of Odisha has become a happening location in the eastern region.
