Eye on creating skilled workforce, UP to project itself as hub for Global Capability Centres

Indian Express

2 days ago

UTTAR PRADESH is looking to project itself as a future hub for Global Capability Centres (GCC) in the country, officials said on Monday, adding that a conclave on the topic would be organised in Lucknow on Tuesday.
As part of this strategy, it is planning to offer subsidies, reduced operation costs as well as skilled manpower, especially in the technology sector, government officials said.
Having introduced the GCC policy in the state Cabinet meeting last month, the conclave is aimed at facilitating dialogue with the industry, including several multinational companies, and showcasing to them the incentives offered by the state and presenting UP as a future destination for 'global in-house Centres', apart from off-shore delivery units with easy availability of skilled manpower in IT, digital engineering, financial services etc.
At present, Uttar Pradesh has 8,375 higher education institutes. The state also has nearly 1.25 lakh polytechnic seats, where skilled students pass-out from every year. Officials said the idea is to connect the need and requirement of the industry with the availability of skilled manpower, aiming to bring employment to the state and at the same time offering cost effective set-up for the companies.
Terming the conclave as a 'strategic' initiative by the government to create 'future ready services eco-system', officials said the idea is to promote the state's capability to provide services in information technology, engineering and finance as well as research and development.
Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, along with senior officials from industry, IT and electronics departments will highlight the government's initiatives in this regard. The conclave will see participation of several industry captains, including Varun Ramanan of Microsoft India, Rajeev Agarwal, Founder of MAQ Software, Amitabh Tiwari, Principal Consultant and Centre Head at Tata Consultancy Services, Lucknow, as well as Amit Verma , Regional Head (north India), NASSCOM.
Sources inform that while Microsoft is in the process of establishing a 10,000 seat centre in Noida, MAQ software has established a 3000-seat engineering centre.
To create skilled manpower as required by the industry, Uttar Pradesh, as part of its GCC policy, is offering to cover upto 50 per cent of the internship cost of upto 50 students with a cap of a maximum of Rs 5000 per student monthly, for internship that should last for at least two months. Further
The government would also offer Skill Development Subsidy to the companies with a promise to provide 50 per cent of the training or the required course fee i.e. upto Rs 50,000 per employee, which can be availed by the companies upto 500 employees in three years time. Not only this, the government is also offering payroll subsidy, wherein companies would get reimbursement of upto Rs 1.8 lakh a year for employees who are residents of the state.
Officials said that the objective is to showcase these incentives before the firms and also engage in dialogue to understand their needs so that amendments can be brought into the policies in future, if needed.