Andhra Pradesh has become the first Indian state to sign a collaboratory agreement with Israel in the IT sector to promote innovative business ideas by assisting small and medium scale enterprises with financial grants right from the inception phase to its marketing.
“This is in light of the large technical talent pool the state of Andhra Pradesh enjoys. We are very confident and hopeful that the collaboration will be a significant contributory factor in accelerating the already in process promotional activities undertaken by the state government,” the Andhra Pradesh Minister for Information Technology, Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah, told PTI.
“The intended collaboration between our state and Israel is in tune with their agreements with about more than 20 countries for supporting innovative ideas in the sector,” he added.
The Andhra Minister is in Israel on a five-day visit to explore the opportunities for collaboration and participated in a conference organised by High Tech Industry Association (HTIA) of Israel.
In various presentations in Israel, Mr Lakshmaiah highlighted how India has emerged as the world’s fastest growing economy and the various steps taken by his state government to develop the IT sector.
Calling upon the Israeli hi-tech industry to partner with Andhra Pradesh, the Minister said that his state accounts for nearly 15 per cent of India’s $46.3 billion of IT exports, which comprise nearly 49 per cent of Andhra’s exports.
He also highlighted the various infrastructural advantages of investing in the state and policies shaped to attract FDIs in the IT sector.