Published

Posted On: 05 JUN 2024 8:27PM by PIB Delhi

Key facts:

· Two MoUs signed for bolstering skill-development and strengthening startup ecosystem

· Report on “Cutting-Edge Tech Forging India as a Software Product Nation’” was released

· Two web portals were launched for a better Startup Networking and Incubation Initiative

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) today proudly celebrated its 33^rd Foundation Day today, commemorating over three decades of unparalleled contributions towards the Indian technology sector in terms of software exports, as well as towards nurturing a modern tech startup ecosystem. The event held at the prestigious Ashok Hotel in New Delhi with the theme of “Positioning Bharat as a Tech Product Nation” was graced by Secretary of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Shri S Krishnan and the Director General of STPI, Shri Arvind Kumar, as well as other dignitaries from both the government and technology industry, such as Shri Vishal Dhupar, MD of NVIDIA and Shri Tejas Goenka, MD of Tally Solutions, all of whom commemorated STPI on the landmark achievement and tremendous contribution over the past three decades.

To strengthen the tech startup ecosystem in terms of networking and affordable incubation space, STPI launched a networking and resource discovery platform (SayujNet) and STPI Workspace portal (STPI-Workspace). The STPI announced its initiative towards developing India’s sovereign cloud journey under the brand name “Ananta”, which will be a hyperscale cloud made by Indians for Indians. Apart from the conventional Compute Infrastructure Services (IAAS), Ananta will also offer PAAS, SAAS and GPU based services.

The event also saw the signing of two MoUs aimed at developing and nurturing a holistic ecosystem for fostering the next generation of tech start-ups in India. The first MoU was signed between Sabudh Foundation and STPI with the objective of creating skill-development initiatives and nurturing entrepreneurial training ecosystem in DeepTech for Engineering Graduates. The inauguration event also saw an MoU exchange between STPINEXT initiatives and DBS Bank India Pvt Ltd aimed at strengthening the tech startup ecosystem in India.

The momentous inauguration ceremony also saw, Shri Krishnan unveil the DeepTech Knowledge Report on, ‘Cutting-Edge Tech Forging India as a Software Product Nation’, which would serve as the apparatus for transforming India into the new hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. This report will provide strategic insights into the current state of cutting-edge technologies in India, as well as the challenges and opportunities for growth and innovation.

Sharing his insights, Shri S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, said, “Today, STPI has a greater presence in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. That is a way that prosperity spreads. What we want to achieve is to help in aggregating talent and aggregating opportunity, through the possibilities of networking and digital connectivity. STPI as an organization is playing a pivotal role in engendering such an environment and putting together such an ecosystem, which is helping India to emerge as a product nation, both in software, software embedded products, and to some extent even in hardware. I would like to congratulate STPI for their contribution in making India truly a digital product nation. We look towards them in the coming decade to continue their good work, so that India truly achieves its growth ambitions.”

Following this, the Director General of STPI, Shri Arvind Kumar addressed the event, “Today is a proud moment for STPI. We have provided dedicated IT/ITES support since 1991, this has been made possible because of the hard work and perseverance of each and every member of the STPI family. We started our journey with three centres and today we have presence in 65 centres across the nation. Looking forward, our mandate from the Ministry is to nurture entrepreneurship and bolster IT/ITES industries in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. We have created 24 Centres of Entrepreneurship (CoEs) and implemented the Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS), which have yielded significant breakthroughs in cutting-edge digital frontiers, while also nurturing over 1000 startups across domains such as Blockchain, AI, IoT, AR and VR. With these initiatives, STPI continues to advance the technology industry and provide a conducive environment for entrepreneurship to prosper in India. As we celebrate the spirit of collaboration and partnership, we will continue to build upon the strong foundation laid over the previous three decades, and aim to achieve greater heights in the future.”

Shri Tejas Goenka, Managing Director, Tally Solutions said, “Software products can have a tremendous Impact on the last mile when it comes to providing quality health and education services. We must all strive to create the right ambition, develop focused skillsets, and foster the dedicated attitude in our talent pool. This will create a multiplier-effect in bolstering the Indian economic growth story. I wish STPI all the very best in their journey ahead and look forward to seeing STPI achieve greater heights in the years to come.”

Sharing his insights, Shri Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director, NVIDIA South Asia said, “We are in the midst of the next industrial revolution, wherein AI intends to solve humanity’s greatest problem called perception. The day is not far when digital assistance will replace your mobile. Hence, I think it is imperative to realize the true potential AI. We are confident that AI will become the critical component of the next industrial revolution and will help usher in disruptive growth that we need to see in the digital economy. We are on the cusp of some extremely interesting and significant developments, which are to happen in this sector. This is a space that needs to be watched in the coming years and watched closely. And we need to be very, very active participants in this. And STPI has its role cut out in the days to come.”

The inaugural event was followed by two expert panel discussions, which had themes of, “Brand Bharat: Harnessing the Power of IT/ITES for AI and Deep Tech”, and “Brand Bharat: Accelerating Design and Development of Electronic Products in India” respectively. By empowering IT Industry and individuals, STPI has driven innovation and inspired the next generation of tech leaders, contributing to a brighter and more technologically advanced future for India. Through its dedication to innovation, inclusivity, and strategic partnerships, STPI has transformed India's technological landscape and positioned the country as a global leader in technology.

About Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) was established and registered as an autonomous society under the Societies Registration Act 1860, under the then Department of Electronics (the present Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology), Government of India on 5^th June 1991 with an objective to implement Software Technology Park (STP) and Electronics Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) schemes, set up and manage infrastructure facilities. STPI also provides High Speed Data Communication (HSDC) facilities, Incubation facilities, especially to local start-ups/ entrepreneurs. Further, STPI is nurturing pan India start-up ecosystem through its initiatives like Centres of Entrepreneurship (CoEs) & Next Generation Incubation scheme (NGIS).

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"STPI’s strategy has focused on creating a supportive ecosystem around tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which have traditionally been less engaged by the IT industry. Out of our 65 centres, 57 are located in tier-2 and tier-3 cities," said DG STPI Arvind Kumar.

Over the past three decades, India's Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITeS) industry has evolved significantly, with revenues reaching $250 billion. The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has played a crucial role in this development, supporting the industry, fostering technological innovation, and expanding the IT sector to tier-2 and tier-3 cities, according to a senior official.

“We started our journey with three centres, and today we have a presence in 65 centres across the nation,” said Arvind Kumar, Director General of STPI, adding that his organisation's efforts have contributed to IT/ITeS services revenue and exports from STPI-registered units rising to Rs 9.19 lakh crore.

Kumar asserted that STPI's strategy has focused on creating a supportive ecosystem around tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which have traditionally been less engaged by the IT industry. “Out of our 65 centres, 57 are located in tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” Kumar said, highlighting that the expansion aims to decentralise the IT industry, promote regional growth, and foster a more inclusive economic landscape.

“We have been the implementing agency for various projects of ministry. One of them is the India BPO Promotion Scheme (IBPS), which has created numerous employment opportunities, generated significant revenue, and facilitated the migration of BPOs to tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” Kumar added.

The premier S&T organisation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is also managing the central government's Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) 2.0 scheme, which provides financial assistance for setting up EMC projects and Common Facility Centres (CFCs) across the country to strengthen the linkage between domestic and international markets by enhancing supply chain responsiveness, consolidating suppliers, reducing time-to-market, and lowering logistics costs.

So far, five projects in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and Karnataka have been approved, with additional project approvals in the pipeline. According to Kumar, this approach of dispersing BPOs and creating electronics manufacturing clusters across different regions aligns with the ministry's directive to nurture entrepreneurship and bolster the IT/ITeS sector in these regions.

Beyond IT/ITeS, STPI has made significant inroads into the startup ecosystem by establishing 24 domain-specific Centres for Entrepreneurship (CoEs), supporting over 1,000 tech startups in areas such as blockchain, AI, IoT, Health Tech, and AR/VR. Its LEAP AHEAD programme, which provides intensive mentorship to startups, has been particularly successful.

“Under this programme, 90 startups received extensive mentorship, and 25 were taken to the TiE-Silicon Valley programme, where many secured funding for their technologies,” said Kumar.

Further recognising the need for collaboration among startups, STPI has launched SayujNet on its 33rd foundation day, a platform designed to connect startups with mentors and investors. “Multiple startups working in the same domain sometimes need to supplement or complement each other. SayujNet will bring tech startups under one umbrella,” explained Kumar.

To modernise the allocation of incubation space, which has traditionally been a cumbersome process involving physical interaction, STPI has introduced a portal for online booking of incubation spaces across its centres.

“We are modernising our incubation space allocation. Currently, space is allocated through physical interactions between the STPI Directorate and IT/ITeS industry executives. We are now creating a portal for online booking of space across the country,” said Kumar.

“Whether you have an office in STPI Pune but need space in STPI Gurgaon, or you are based in Bhagalpur and need space in Gurgaon, you can book it online,” he said.

With a focus on skilling, reskilling, and the role of next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence, STPI has collaborated with the Sabudh Foundation to provide technology training. It has also partnered with Yotta Data Services, which recently collaborated with NVIDIA, a major AI chip maker, to develop India's sovereign cloud under the brand name “Ananta,”.

“Beyond conventional compute Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Ananta will also offer Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), and GPU-based services, providing essential support to startups and small IT industries in developing deep tech products,” said Kumar.

Discussing the future, Kumar said that STPI aims to continue supporting the growth of the IT sector, fostering innovations, and ensuring that India remains competitive in the global digital economy.

“Today's celebration reflects on our past achievements and envisions the future, reaffirming our commitment to excellence, innovation, and inclusivity. We are here to celebrate the spirit of collaboration and partnership that has been instrumental to our success. Together, we will build on the strong foundation laid over the years and achieve even greater heights,” he said.

IT services exports from STPI-registered units have crossed Rs 9 lakh crore in the 2024 financial year, a senior official said on Wednesday.

While speaking at the 33rd Foundation Day of Software Technology Parks of India, Director General Arvind Gupta announced an initiative towards developing India's sovereign cloud journey under the brand name 'Ananta', which will be a hyperscale cloud made by Indians for Indians.

Apart from the conventional Compute Infrastructure Services (IAAS), Ananta will also offer PAAS, SAAS and GPU-based services.

"STPI has played a very crucial and important role for nurturing the IT industry so that it could have reached this stage. The exports from STPI registered units have also reached Rs 9.19 lakh crore," Gupta said.

The STPI registered units in the first year of its establishment in 1991 reported exports of Rs 17 crore. STPI at the event signed a memorandum of understanding with Sabudh Foundation for creating skill-development initiatives and nurturing the entrepreneurial training ecosystem in DeepTech for Engineering Graduates.

An MoU was exchanged between STPINEXT initiatives and DBS Bank India aimed at strengthening the tech startup ecosystem in India.

Gupta said that STPI now has 65 centres out of which 57 centres are in tier 2, tier 3 city..
"The (IT) Ministry has mandated us to expand entrepreneurship, expand IT-ITes industries to tier 2, tier 3 cities. As a result of that, we have 55 centres across the country which are in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. We have created a lot of employment, lot of revenue, and migration of BPO's to tier 2 and tier 3 cities," Gupta said.

He said that STPI created 24 centres for entrepreneurship across the country, which are domain-specific and it is nurturing more than 1,000 startups in the country.

"Start-ups require a lot of cloud services. Therefore we are also going to launch one platform in a PPP mode with Yotta. It will be called Ananta, where we can provide cloud services to start-up, small IT industries. It will help them in developing deep tech products," Gupta said.

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Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), celebrated its 33rd Foundation Day on 5^th June 2024 at a special event held in New Delhi, Delhi).

The foundation day event was held under the theme "Positioning Bharat as a Tech Product Nation".
Significance: STPI, founded on 5th June 1991, commemorates over 3 decades of exceptional contributions towards the Indian technology sector in areas of software exports
and also promoting modern tech startup ecosystems.

Key People present during the event: 

• S. Krishnan, Secretary(MeitY)
• Arvind Kumar, Director General (DG) of STPI
• Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director (MD) of NVIDIA
• Tejas Goenka, MD of Tally Solutions

Highlights of the Event:

1. STPI launched two new web portals, SayujNet, a networking and resource discovery platform, and STPI-Workspace, an STPl Workspace portal, to strengthen the tech startup ecosystem in terms of networking and affordable incubation space in India.
   • These portals aim to bolster the tech startup network and offer affordable incubation initiatives in India.
2. STPI also announced its new initiative under the brand name "Ananta", to develop a strong cloud network made by Indians for Indians.
   • This will offer various cloud computing services such as Software as a Service (SAAS), Platform as a Service (PAAS), Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS) and Graphical Processing Unit (GPU).

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