Telangana government has launched two new sectoral policies as part of the state’s IT policy – a policy on Internet of Things (IoT) and an e-waste management policy.
The policies were released on Tuesday at FICCI’s iTelangana summit. Both policies were unveiled by the state’s IT minister KT Rama Rao.
The IoT Policy 2017 is aimed at creating a conducive atmosphere for IoT-specific businesses and manufacturing units to thrive in the state. The policy aims to attract investments worth Rs 10,000 crore and generate direct employment to 50,000 people in the state.
As part of the policy, five zones will be created across Hyderabad, Warangal and Sircilla districts for entrepreneurs and companies to deploy their proof of concepts (POCs) in the IoT space.
“Internet of Things will soon encompass a new dimension and become Internet of Everything. All such path-breaking innovations provide huge opportunities for governments to ensure the best of IoT and smart technologies are made available for the benefit of citizens,” KT Rama Rao said at the launch of the IoT policy.
The focus areas of the state within IoT will be smart city solutions, medical and health IoT, smart logistics and agri-tech.
Through the launch of this policy, the government will develop world-class infrastructure to promote development of IoT products. For this, it is setting up T-Works, a hardware prototyping centre aimed hardware product startups. This will be similar to its startup engine T-Hub. However, while T-Hub will be for software and It-related startups, T-works will cater to those in the hardware space.
It will also promote manufacturing and procurement of IoT-based solutions. It will support startups in this space to raise capital and create a ready-to-employ talent pool in the state.
The government also launched an e-waste policy to protect the environment and create awareness in managing e-waste by segregating and channelizing end-of-life products to the right avenues.
A recent study by ASSOCHAM estimates that India produces 13 lakh metric tonnes of e-waste every year, with Hyderabad being the sixth largest generator amounting to 25,000 MT.
Through this policy, the state will assist the unorganised sector to transition into an organized sector, creating an e-waste refurbishing and recycling ecosystem.
The state will earmark industrial space for e-waste dismantling and recycling in existing and upcoming industrial parts, estates and clusters. A mandatory registration process will be notified for workers involved in dismantling and recycling.
To boost refurnishing and recycling, the government will offer a subsidy of Rs 1 crore for a minimum capital investment of Rs 5 crores for the first five recyclers and refurbishers. For dismantlers and collection centres, Rs 30 lakh will be provided as subsidy for a minimum capital investment of Rs 1 crore.
The government also signed an MoU with Banyan Nation for e-waste management. Additionally, it also signed MoUs with Waste Ventures and Eco Recycling for promotion of e-waste management in the state.