ITE&C Department - Right to Information Act, 2005 [Central Act No.22 of 2005] - Publication of Information under section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 - Revised information - Published - Orders - Issued (G.O.Rt.No.106, Dated:26.12.2022)

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Registered No. HSE-49/2016

PART I EXTRAORDINARY

No.54 AMARAVATI, THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023 G.3376 NOTIFICATIONS BY GOVERNMENT

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CHAPTER – 2 Organization, Functions and Duties {Section 4(1)(b)(i)} Right to Information Act

Organization:

The Information Technology Wing was created as part of the Finance & Planning (Plg. Wing) Department vide G.O.Rt.No.2125 General Administration (Special.A) Department, Dated:09-05-1997. During September, 2000 the IT&C Department was given an independent status vide G.O.Ms.No.12, IT&C Department, Dated: 11.09.2000. The nomenclature of the Department has been changed as Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department vide G.O.Ms.No.575, General Administration (AR&T.I) Department, Dated: 24.07.2013. The Department has one HOD i.e., Director, Electronic Services Delivery (ESD) - (Mee Seva), one Public Sector Undertaking i.e., AP Technology Services Ltd., and two registered societies i.e., Society for Andhra Pradesh Network (SAPNET) and Institute for Electronic Governance (IEG).

1.2 Objective:

The ITE&C Department plays a crucial role in policy formulation in IT sector, conceptualizing and initiating various e-governance initiatives, stipulating standards for compliance, Promoting investments in IT sector, facilitating growth of IT Enabled Services through proactive measures and providing a strong communication backbone in the State and introducing implementation of Electronic Hardware manufacturing units in the State.

1.3 Right to Information Act:

The Right to Information Act, 2005 of Parliament received the assent of the President of India. The Act provides for setting out the practical regime of Right to Information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of Public Authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. In accordance with 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act, 2005 the Manual Information Handbook is prepared for the use of public.

1.4 Intended users of the Information Handbook:

Citizens, Civil Society Organizations, Public representatives, Officers and employees of Public Authorities including Public Information Officers and Assistant Public Information Officers and Appellate Officers, Central and State Information Commissions etc.

1.5 Definitions of terms used:

I. Wherever the following terms are used they means:

• IT - Information Technology • ITE&C - Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department.

• ICT Policy - Information and Communication Technology Policy of the Government of AP.

• ITES - Information Technology Enabled Services • APTS - Andhra Pradesh Technology Services Ltd, a public limited company under the control of ITE&C Department located at BRKR Bhavan, Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad

• APEITA – Andhra Pradesh Electronics & Information Technology Agency • APITA (IEG) – Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Academy (Institute for Electronic Governance).

• APSCAN - Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Campus Area Network • APSWAN - Andhra Pradesh State Wide Area Network • SAPNET - Society for Andhra Pradesh Network • BPO - Business Process Outsourcing • SEZ - Special Economic Zone. • CIOs - Chief Information Officers • JKCs - Jawahar Knowledge Centers • NISG - National Institute of Smart Governance. • MSIT - Microsoft Information Technology. • CCITI - Consultative Committee on Information Technology. • EHMU – Electronic Hardware Manufacturing Units • ITIR – Information Technology Investment Region.

1.6 Organization of Information:

The information pertaining to ITE&C Department at Secretariat level is provided in this booklet. The information pertaining to the other Offices viz., APTS Ltd, Director, e- Pragati Authority, APEITA, APITA, AP Innovation Society and SAPNET is provided by the respective ofces. The information as mentioned at para 1.2 above and as stipulated in the Right to Information Act is provided item wise in different chapters. The reference made to certain Rules, Manuals and Acts of other Departments issued by Government of Andhra Pradesh or Government of India are quoted since they are applicable to the programmes /terms under reference and available with the concerned Departments.

The Rules, Instructions, Documents, Manuals, Acts & Policies of the ITE&C Department referred at different instances are available in the Office of the ITE&C Department and some of them are also available as a link in the Web site www.apit.ap.gov.in

More information can be had from the concerned wing Officers or the State Public Information Officer / Asst Public Information Officer of the Department at free of cost or by paying the prescribed fee if any.

CHAPTER – 3 Powers and Duties of Officers and Employees {Section 4(1)(b)(ii)}

(ii) The powers and duties of officers and employees;

Principal Secretary to Government

Principal Secretary to Government is the official head of the Department. She is responsible for careful observance of the Business Rules and Secretariat Instructions in the transaction of business in the department. She exercises general supervision and control over the staff under her and she is responsible to see that the members of the staff do the work allotted to them efficiently and expeditiously. One Special Secretary, One E.O. Dy. Secretary, One Joint Secretary, One Director, One Joint Director, One Assistant Secretary to Government and One Spl. Officer (Portal) assist the Principal Secretary to Government.

Special Secretary to Government

Special Secretary to Government occupies a position almost identical with that ofPrincipal Secretary to Government in regard to subject allotted to him and can send cases for orders through Principal Secretary to Government. He is responsible for careful observance of the Business Rules and Secretariat Instructions in the transaction of business in the department. He exercises general supervision and control over the staffunder him and he is responsible to see that the members of the staff do the work allotted to them efficiently and expeditiously. One Joint Secretary, One Director, One Joint Director, One Assistant Secretary to Government and One Spl. Officer (Portal) assist the Special Secretary to Government.

Joint Secretary to Government

The Joint Secretary to Government occupies a position almost identical with that of Secretary to Government in regard to subject allotted to him and can send cases for orders through Principal Secretary to Government/ Special Secretary to Government. The Principal Secretary to Government remains responsible for the subjects allotted to the Deputy Secretary to Government in the Department.

Assistant Secretary to Government:

The Assistant Secretaries to Government exercise control over the Admin Section placed in his/her charge with regard to dispatch of business and in regard to maintaining discipline in the Sections.

Section Officer

The Section officer is In-charge of the Admin Section in the Department. One Assistant Section officer assist him. He is responsible all files relating to the5 subjects allotted to the Assistant Section officers under him. He is directly responsible to the officer under whom he works for the efficient and expeditious dispatch of business in all stages in his Section. The Training of the Assistant Section Officer under him is one of his principal functions. He himself undertake to deal with the more difficult or important papers. He is not expected to express his views or to suggest what orders should be passed on a case when there is clear precedent or the case is of a routine nature. He should maintain a discipline in his Sections.

Assistant Section Officer:

The main duties of ASOs are to draft and reference the communications properly and deal with the cases relating to his seat in the section efficiently and expeditiously. He maintain Personal Registers, reminder dairy, Call Books, Periodicals and other relevant registers.

Stenographers

The duties of the Stenographers working as Private Secretaries to Principal Secretary/ Secretary to Government are to attend telephone calls and dictation work and any other official work entrusted to them.

Allocation of Job (subjects) among the sections in Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department, Secretariat is as follows;

CHAPTER - 4

Procedure Followed in Decision-making Process

{Section 4(1)(b)(iii)}

4 (1)(b)(iii) The procedure followed in the decision making process, including channel of supervision and accountability.

The procedure followed in the decision making is common to all Departments including Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department as prescribed in Business Rules and Secretariat Instructions Published by General Administration (Cabinet / IC) Department.

Any representation on paper received in the department is numbered as entered in Personal Register of concerned Asst. Section officer dealing with the subject who in turn submits the file to Section Officer. After his examination file is put up to Asst. Secretary, who in turn puts up to Joint Secretary and finally to the Principal Secretary/ Secretary.

In regard to Service matters, the department consults General Administration (Services) Department.

In regard to Legal matters and the matters requires interpretation of law, the Law Department is being consulted.

In regard to matters having financial implications, the Finance Department is being consulted.

CHAPTER - 5 Norms set for Discharge of Functions {Section 4 (1)(b)(iv)}

The norms/ standard set by the department for the discharge of its functions / delivery of services as citizen charter are also defined in both Secretariat Office Manual and Business Rules.

The usual office hours are from 10.30 AM to 5-00 PM

The service delivery time frame for the services rendered by the department is given below;

a. routine matters 3 days b. other than routine matters 5 days c. services matters 10 days

CITIZEN'S CHARTER

As per the recommendation of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission

CHAPTER- 6 Rules, Regulations, Instructions, Manual and Records, for Discharging Functions Section 4(1)(b)(v) & (vi)

The following are the list of rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by public authority or under its control or used by its employees for discharging functions:

All the important documents are under the custody of the PIO, Important G.O.s, Enquiry cases, etc15 CHAPTER - 7 Arrangements for Consultation with, or Representation by, the Members of the Public in relation to the Formulation of Policy or Implementation thereof {Section 4(1)(b)vii}

The particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with or representation by the members of the public in relation to the formation of its policy or implementation thereof;

Arrangements by the public authority to seek consultation /participation of public or its representatives for formulation and implementation of policies:

CHAPTER - 8 Boards, Councils, Committees and other Bodies constituted as part of Public Authority (Section 4(1)(b)(viii)}

Information on Boards, Councils, Committees and other Bodies related to the Public Authority:

To develop Andhra Pradesh as an Innovation society of global repute, with a focus on enhancing the quality of life of its citizens, through high-quality education and healthcare, increased productivity in industry and its allied activities, creation of Employment by promoting Electronics and IT. The Government is about to announce its investment promotion policy for the IT & ESDM Industry, these policies may spell out certain incentives to the industry and place certain responsibilities on the industry as well.

The speedy realization of the goals to be set in the polices assumes that the commitments on either side are kept up promptly. This needs a tremendous level of coordination between the various functionaries of the Government on the one hand and the representatives of the Industry on the other, for prescribing procedures, issue of consequent guidelines under the policies to be formulated, etc., To resolve the existing problems in implementation of the previous and upcoming policy's also for speedy realization of the goals set, the need for a standing Committee to fulfill the objectives of efficient co-ordination between the functionaries of Government and representatives of Industry is highly felt.

Government therefore after careful consideration has renamed the CCITI as 'Consultative Committee for Information Technology and Electronics Industry (CCITEI)'and re- constitutes the said committee with the following composition:

The CCITEI shall act as a single window for granting all the incentives, land allotments announced through the polices to be issued in the period of 2020 – 2025.

The terms of reference of CCITEI are indicated below: a. To grant various incentives, land allotments available in the AP IT Policy, AP Electronics Policy and any other polices to be issued within the said period, to industry on examination of applications made by them including recommending allotment of lands to the IT & ESDM Industry in the respective IT/ESDM parks/clusters.

b. To resolve the problems in implementation of the policies and cause necessary through implementing agencies, such as APIIC/ Urban Development Authorities/ DISCOMs/Municipal Corporations, for administration of various incentives sanctioned, and for speedy realization of the goals set forth in the upcoming polices within the said period.

c. To prescribe the procedures and to issue guidelines and clarifications in implementation of all polices to be issued in coming years i.e., 2020-2025. The CCITEI can recommend/approve/reject/defer any application for incentives/land allotments at its sole discretion.

d. Committee shall process the old incentive applications as per the earlier policies until new policies and guidelines are issued.

The term of the members of CCITEI shall be coterminous with the period of all policies to be issued within the period 2020 – 2023.

CHAPTER - 9 Directory of Officers and Employees {Section 4 (1)(b)(ix)} INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Directory of officers/ employees of Information Technology, Electronics &

Communications Department

CHAPTER - 10 Monthly Remuneration received by Officers and Employees, including the System of Compensation as provided in Regulations

{Section 4(1)(b)(x)}

CHAPTER - 11 Budget Allocated to Each Agency including Plans etc. {Section 4(1)(b)xi}

The budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications Department,

The budget page of the department in the budget book made budget book made available by Finance Dept., in the website: www.apfinance.gov.in are under Volume No.III/2 Demand No. XXXIX- Information Technology and Communications, Page No.185 to 195.

* Additional Funds Received.

CHAPTER - 12 Manner of Execution of Subsidy Programmes {Section 4(1)(b)xii} Manner of execution of Incentives/Programmes under Andhra Pradesh IT Policy 2021-2024

The adoption of Information Technology(IT) into the daily aspects of life is growing faster, with efficiencies derived from digitization driving the economy worldwide. With more than half a billion internet users in India, the youth graduating out of the universities are more educated, skilled, and innovative. Such a vibrant ecosystem is rapidly transforming the Indian IT industry.

The Indian market for IT/ IT Enabled Services stood at USD 191 Billion (INR 14.3 Lakh Cr.) in the year 2019-20 and is expected to increase to USD 350 Billion (INR 26.2 Lakh Cr.) by 2025, driven by growth from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. IT services, Business Process Management (BPM), software products and engineering services are some of the major sub-sectors in IT with growth potential in India.

In view of this potential for fast growth and generation of large-scale employment in the sector, the Government of Andhra Pradesh evolved a holistic policy framework for IT/ IT Enabled Services sector, in Andhra Pradesh to compete with other States which have an existing IT/ IT Enabled Services ecosystem and attractive incentives. In order to take advantage of this opportunity and create large scale employment, and to foster a culture of entrepreneurship, the Government of Andhra Pradesh hereby notifies the "Andhra Pradesh IT Policy 2021-24" addressing the current needs of the industry.

AP IT Policy 2021-24:

1. Definitions

i. A foreign IT company is a company with its headquarters outside India. ii. A multinational corporation(MNC) has facilities and assets in at least one country other than its home country.

iii. Advanced technologies refer to latest industry 4.0 technologies and applications such as Internet of Things (IoT), Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC), Cyber Security, Block chain, Cloud computing, Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) etc.

iv. An Indian IT company is defined as a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and its amendments, in India with headquarters in India. "IT firms" and "IT enterprises" mentioned in this policy have the same meaning as "IT company" and are interchangeable.

v. BC enterprise is an enterprise promoted by backward class community entrepreneurs as sole Proprietor or invariably having 100 percent share in Partnership/Private Limited Companies. BC entrepreneur refers to a person hailing from Andhra Pradesh and belonging to BC Category as notified by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

vi. Business Process Management (BPM) refers to functionalities including process modeling, generation of applications, performance monitoring,26 Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) etc.

vii. CCITEI is an empowered 'Consultative Committee for the IT and Electronics Industry' constituted by the Government of Andhra Pradesh with the representatives of the Government and the industry.

viii. Date of commencement of commercial operations is the date on which commercial operations are started, subject to furnishing of the first sale bill/ invoice.

ix. Entry level IT professional/ job is defined as an employee whose annual Cost To Company (CTC) is up to INR 5 lakh per annum.

x. Gig economy involves large number of people performing freelance work in the IT industry as opposed to permanent jobs and involves connecting with clients or customers or delivery of services through an online platform. xi. High-end IT professional/ job is defined as an employee whose annual CTC is more than INR 10 lakh per annum.

xii. Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA) is a body to promote local self- governance of industrial areas involving the tax payers community in the notified industrial areas in the management/ maintenance of such industrial areas.

xiii. IT Campus refers to a physically contiguous association of locations such as several adjacent office buildings. Such campuses house multiple IT business units of a single organization.

xiv. IT Industry/ IT Projects refers to IT product development firms, IT services, IT component of back office operations such as accounts and financial services, IT support centers, website services, business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing, data processing, call enters, engineering and design elements of IT infrastructure, medical transcription, legal database processing, digital content development, digital technology component of media and entertainment industry, offsite IT support, geographic information services, IT/ IT Enabled Services components of Human Resources (HR) services, insurance claim processing, payroll processing, revenue accounting, Animation Visual effects, Gaming, Comics (AVGC), data centers, Social, Mobile, Analytics, and Cloud (SMAC), technology aspects of e-Commerce, digital content creation, digital management and technology, natural language computing, telecom, Internet of Things (IoT) and emerging technologies such as Cyber Security, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, etc. This does not include companies engaged in manufacturing of IT/ telecom hardware.

xv. IT Park is a dedicated area comprising of multiple IT industries/ units. xvi. IT Park Developer means the real estate infrastructure developer or a builder constructing IT space for sale/ lease or lease-cum-sale for the IT industry.

xvii. IT Space refers to the total building space with super built-up area excluding covered parking.

xviii. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises is defined as per the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Act of Government of India, and its amendments from time to time.

xix. Mid-level IT professional/ job is defined as an employee whose annual CTC is in between INR 5 to 10 lakh per annum.

xx. Product development refers to the development of software products (out of box piece of software or application).

xxi. Product engineering services refers to engineering consulting activity, by way of using hardware, embedded software and IT services solutions for the designing and development of products across different phases of product engineering from inception to the end of the lifecycle of a product.

xxii. SC/ ST enterprise is an enterprise with 100 percent Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST) entrepreneurs. SC/ ST entrepreneur refers to a person belonging to SC/ ST Category as notified by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. All non-statutory concessions granted to S.C. (Hindus) by the State Government including economic support schemes sanctioned by A.P. Scheduled Castes Cooperative Finance Corporation have been extended to Scheduled Caste converts to Christianity and Buddhism as per orders issued in the G.O.Ms.No.341, Social Welfare (PR) Dept. dated 30.8.1977.

xxiii. Startup: will be as defined by Government of India from time to time. xxiv. Telecommunications service provider includes basic telecom service providers (fixed), cellular (mobile) companies, telecom infrastructure companies, Internet Service Providers (ISP) and any other value-added services licensed by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.

xxv. Women enterprise is an enterprise with 100 percent ownership by women entrepreneurs, wherein the entrepreneur hailing from Andhra Pradesh would be eligible. 2. Advantage Andhra Pradesh

The Andhra Pradesh State is strategically located along the Southeast coast of India and is a natural gateway to East and Southeast Asia. The State has a population of 49.3 million, accounting for 4 percent of India's population. The State has five operational ports, with another three ports under development. Andhra Pradesh also has six airports (3 international, 3 domestic), with an additional three airports under development. An international airport at Bhogapuram near Visakhapatnam is also being developed at a fast pace. The State has 40,000 acres of land bank and provides 24X7 reliable, quality power and water to the industry.

Currently, the State is home to more than 45,000 employees in the IT sector, and a large portion of the IT workforce in the country and even globally hail from the State. Andhra Pradesh is also home to highly skilled technical resources with a host of premier Government Institutes such as Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Sri Venkateshwara University(SVU), Andhra University (AU) and International Institute of Digital Technologies (IIDT) in addition to multiple reputed private universities and colleges. Many of the IT engineers graduating from the State have gone on to work at and lead some of the best IT firms in the world.

Andhra Pradesh is the easiest State to do business and has been ranked first in the World Bank's and Government of India's Ease of Doing Business ranking in the previous three ranking editions. The cost of living across all existing Indian IT hubs is increasing rapidly while the quality of life is dropping at a fast pace, leading to a reduced attractiveness of such cities. In this context, cities such as Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Anantapur are ideal locations for IT firms to either expand or shift their operations. 3. Vision

The vision of the Policy is to "transform the ITE&C department into a revenue center to achieve self-sustenance and to generate large scale local employment in IT/ IT Enabled Services sector, with specific focus on innovation and emerging technologies, and ensure public data security."

The policy aims to achieve this through the following levers: i. Investment promotion

a. Bridge existing employability gaps to ensure availability of qualified manpower for the IT industry

b. Promote niche and advanced technologies to leverage

technology integration across industries and segments

c. Encourage innovation and startup culture d. Encourage global trends such as "Work from Home" e. Preferential market access to local IT firms

f. Information security of public data through appropriate

architecture in the State Data Center (SDC)

ii. Revenue generation

a. Adopt a Service-based model wherein the ITE&C department would provide services to Government departments and private users on chargeable basis

b. Aggregation of hardware and software procured for Government departments and private users

c. Development of IT parks/ office spaces/ concept cities/ any other IT infrastructure, including lease of land and infrastructure to the IT industry d. Providing technical manpower to Government departments

4. Objectives

The policy aims to achieve the following objectives.

i. Transform the ITE&C department into a self-sustainable department through revenue generation.

ii. Creating an industry-ready talent pool and fulfill the demand for skilled IT manpower.

iii. Facilitating the creation of co-working space and satellite centers to enable seamless start of operations for IT units.

iv. Promoting innovation and startups through appropriate incentives and interventions.

v. Promoting cutting-edge and emerging technologies such as quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), Data Analytics, Blockchain, Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR), Fintech etc.

vi. Encourage the adoption of latest global trends in IT business models such as "Work from Home".

vii. Provide a boost to "Gig economy" by supporting freelancers in the IT space.

viii. Enable quick approval for investment proposals and reduce the time taken to commence operations.

ix. Engage with the State's formidable global diaspora to invest in Andhra Pradesh and contribute to its talent pool.

5. Policy validity

The policy will be valid retrospectively from 1 April 2021 till 31 March 2024, unless superseded by a new policy or by a modification to this policy. The policy supersedes the previous IT/ IT Enabled Services policies and other sub-sector specific policies.

6. Infrastructure development for enabling the growth of IT/ IT Enabled Services sector The ITE&C department will develop three State-of-the-art concept cities, that offer a significant cost advantage and speed of execution. The department also endeavors to establish an "Integrated Technology Park" in Visakhapatnam, consisting of an Emerging Technologies Research University, Incubation centers, Centers of Excellence (CoE), labs, co-working spaces, State Data Center (SDC), and supporting offices of the ITE&C department. Such infrastructure developed shall be owned and managed by the ITE&C department.

i. Concept cities

The department shall develop IT concept cities in 3 locations close to major existing IT ecosystems, as a specially designated area in the State exclusively meant for development of a holistic industrial ecosystem. The aim of developing the concept cities is to ensure speed of execution and reduction of cost for the IT industry, to offer quick approvals to reduce time to start operations, to enable seamless connectivity to airports and highways, to ensure availability of skilled manpower, to develop world class IT driven common and social infrastructure, to enable walk to work, and to propagate plug and play IT office space, and co- working spaces. These concept cities will be developed as futuristic living spaces which would improve the quality of life of the citizens.

ii. IT Emerging Technologies Research University

The Government will establish an IT Emerging Technologies Research University in Visakhapatnam to sustain and advance the position of the State as a leading contributor to the national talent pool in IT and cutting-edge emerging technologies. The aim is to foster and combine innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry growth. The university will be positioned to attract top academicians and IT majors. It will build collaborations with leading national and global institutions and have a curriculum that serves industry needs. The university will offer full-time and part-time degree/ diploma programs for fresh graduates and working executives. Further, it will support the Skills University in the design and deployment of suitable skill development courses in the areas of IT and emerging technologies, offering pathways to an advanced formal degree for those who wish to pursue that option. The primary focus of the Emerging Technologies Research University30 would be on applied research i.e., use of IT and emerging technologies in priority areas of interest to the State and its governance. iii. Short-term employability enhancement measures

The department will offer courses under Massive Online Open Classrooms (MOOCs) in collaboration with leading e-Learning platforms. Additionally, Andhra Pradesh Information Technology Academy (APITA) which is tasked with organizing technical trainings for workforce in the State, will leverage the infrastructure of the skill colleges to be established by the Government and existing colleges to conduct training programs and courses. Further, Andhra Pradesh Electronics and Information Technology Agency (APEITA) will empanel manpower agencies to provide the industry with access to a database of skilled workforce.

iv. Incubation centers, satellite centers, Center of Excellence (CoEs), and

laboratories for promoting emerging technologies

The department shall work towards promoting adoption of niche and emerging technologies such as cloud, Blockchain, IoT, cyber security, data analytics etc. in the State, for improved e-Governance, citizen centric service delivery, and attract IT industry working on latest technologies. Centers of Excellence and prototyping laboratories will be created to focus on co-creating futuristic ideas into business propositions in collaboration with the private sector, partner incubators/ accelerators for IT startups, in cloud computing, AI/ ML, AVGC, and technology platforms for e-Commerce. Satellite centers (plug and play office space for housing satellite offices of IT firms) shall be co- located in the skill colleges or any other suitable locations as decided by the Government.

v. Development of co-working space and IT Towers

The department will strive to create shared plug and play working space, meant for IT industry, in a transparent Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode wherever possible or on its own, and provide a basic set of common amenities expected in a professional work environment where enterprises can lease office space on flexible terms.

vi. Aggregation of office space

The department will create a platform to aggregate the plug and play and warm shell IT office space available in the State so as to make it easier for IT/ IT Enabled Services firms to find suitable office space for commencing operations.

vii. State Data Center (SDC)

The department will establish its SDC, with a primary site and a Disaster Recovery (DR) site in suitable locations with an installed capacity of about10 Mega Watt to ensure information security of all the confidential data and information pertaining to the Government through appropriate measures.

viii. Offices of ITE&C Department

The offices pertaining to the ITE&C Department, its societies and corporations shall be developed to enable the societies and corporations to work cohesively and achieve a sustainable ecosystem development of the IT/ IT Enabled Services sector. This will enable easy access of the IT/ IT Enabled Services sector to the department and thereby enable faster redressal of grievances for the industry.

ix. Digital libraries/ workplaces

The department envisions to create digital libraries/ workplaces in each Gram Panchayat, with each digital library/ workplace offering six computer systems with access to high- speed internet, essential software, video conferencing31 facility, and provide a secure workspace for IT professionals working remotely. The libraries/ workplaces will also offer printing/ scanning services on chargeable basis and access to free of cost knowledge databases such as research and industry magazines, open source interactive coding and development environment, and access to public datasets.

7. Business process reforms

i. Deemed Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA) approval for IT concept cities and IT parks A deemed IALA approval would be given to the IT concept cities, Integrated Technology Park and IT parks developed by the department or its agencies or through a private developer so that IT units/ developers within these areas can commence operations immediately after getting an online acknowledgement by submitting a 'declaration of intent' with a condition to formalize the approvals within three years from the date of such deemed approval.

ii. Approval reforms

The department aims to cut down the complexity for the industry in moving from the initial planning phase to the operationalization phase by bringing various reforms in land allotment, incentives approval, provision of infrastructure, permissions for commencement of operations and processing of incentive claims, through a dedicated investment portal. For this purpose, the Policy outlines the following measures:

a. Comprehensive investment portal to handle all project applications, permissions and incentive claims.

b. All land/ space allotments and incentive approvals within the framework of policy will be under the purview of ITE&C Dept. for those firms under the IT industry. The allotment of land shall be made by a designated agency, only on the recommendation of CCITEI.

c. IT concept cities, integrated technology park and IT parks developed by the Government or its agencies or through private developers will be provided critical infrastructure till the boundary of the site.

d. Designated agencies will provide internal/ external infrastructure wherever applicable in land sites within 60 days from the purchase of land.

e. Floor Space Index (FSI) norms would be relaxed within the IT Concept Cities, Integrated Technology Park, IT parks developed by the Government or its agencies or through private developers, subject to payment of a prescribed premium.

f. Investors seeking incentives beyond the scope of Policy must apply through the Government route.

iii. Statutory exemptions

a. IT companies/ IT parks/ Integrated Technology Park would be exempt from the purview of the AP Pollution Control Act, except in respect of power generation sets.

b. IT parks/ IT companies would be exempt from inspections under the following Acts and the Rules framed there under, barring inspections arising out of specific complaints.

1. The Factories Act 194832 2. The Maternity Benefit Act1961 3. The AP Shops and Establishments Act1988 4. The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 5. The Minimum Wages Act 1948 6. The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act 1959 7. AP Employment of Local Candidates Act 2019 c. General permission shall be available for 3-shift operations with women working in the night for IT parks/ IT companies, subject to the IT units taking the prescribed precautions in respect of safety and security of employees.

d. IT industry is declared as essential services under AP Essential Services Maintenance Act.

e. The IT units are permitted to file self-certifications, in the prescribed formats.

iv. Infrastructure for IT industry

a. ITE&C department shall strive to offer infrastructure such as land and plug and play office space to industry as per the norms of the land allotment agency.

b. The extent of land allotment/ plug and play space to IT industry and their cost and rentals respectively shall be as approved by CCITEI as per the existing guidelines.

c. The land allotment agency shall adhere to such approvals of CCITEI with respect to IT office spaces/ IT parks developed by the Government or its agencies.

8. Fiscal incentives for attracting IT industry

i. Employment creation incentive

a. A one-time incentive of 10 percent of annual salary capped as below:

1. INR 1,00,000 per local employment position for high-end IT

jobs created in the State.

2. INR 75,000 per local employment position for mid-level IT jobs

created in the State.

3. INR 50,000 per local employment position for entry-level jobs

created in the State.

b. Women/ SC/ ST/ BC enterprises shall be eligible for a one-time incentive of 15 percent of annual salary capped as below:

1. INR 1,50,000 per local employment position for high-end IT

jobs created in the State.

2. INR 1,12,500 per local employment position for mid-level IT

jobs created in the State.

3. INR 75,000 per local employment position for entry-level IT

jobs created in the State.

c. The criteria for availing the eligible employment incentives in three tranches will be defined in the operating guidelines.

ii. 'Work from Home' incentives33 'Work from Home' is fast emerging as a trend in the IT sector, with some companies willing to allow their employees to work remotely for an indefinite period. In this aspect, Andhra Pradesh has the advantage as majority of IT workforce hails from the State. Hence, the Government is offering the following incentives to encourage IT firms to allow their employees to work from a location in Andhra Pradesh:

A one-time incentive of up to INR 20,000 per employment position to cover expenses related to remote working hardware, software, bandwidth costs etc. for IT firms in Andhra Pradesh with remotely working employees within the State. To qualify for this subsidy, minimum employment criteria would be applicable as Stated in the guidelines.

iii. Boost to gig economy

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in employment opportunities globally, in the form of job cuts, furloughs, and reduced new hiring. In this context, working professionals and fresh graduates are increasingly turning to a freelance/ gig based work model that offers flexibility in working hours and financial stability. The Government is providing a boost to a gig economy through the following incentives:

a. ITE&C department will create an exchange/ platform for Andhra Pradesh based freelance workers, for such workers to register.

b. Reimbursement of 50 percent of cost of buying IT hardware such as laptop, internet dongle, furniture, up to INR 20,000 per gig worker, subject to proof of executing gigs worth at least INR 3 lakhs from Andhra Pradesh in the financial year.

iv. Quality Certification

50 percent reimbursement on quality certification charges up to INR 5 lakhs per firm will be provided to IT firms.

v. Measures for startup ecosystem development

The following measures are envisaged for assisting startups:

f. Training programs for entrepreneurs with business ideas, to address knowledge gaps in understanding target market, business plan, tax laws, insurance, financial planning, promoting business, sales, service etc. would be imparted

g. Access to market reports and surveys for early stage startups would be provided.

h. Government shall launch a flagship startup promotion scheme for early stage startups, 'Accelerate Startups in Andhra Pradesh (ASAP)', offering plug and play office space, access to a network of investors, mentors and the State's trained talent pool. These provisions and other common shared services shall be offered to startups on reasonable charges.

i. A fund of funds of INR 100 Cr. shall be co-created in partnership with a consortium of Venture Capitals and Private Equity firms and universities, for funding startups in the State.

j. Incubation centers shall be set up in areas notified by the Government from time to time.

k. The department will strive to conduct hackathons and workshops for startups based in the State, in collaboration with Universities and colleges, to ensure continuous innovation, and to encourage the development of innovative solutions for Government to Citizen (G2C), and Government to Business (G2B) services and other Government use cases.

l. The startups which work on the application of emerging digital technologies such as AR/ VR, AI/ ML, IoT, Data Science, Robotics, 5th generation (5G) cellular network, Serverless Computing, Natural Language Processing, Blockchain etc., and those which address the primary sectors will be provided priority in allotment of plug and play space, access to talent pool, incubation centers, Centers of Excellence, prototyping labs etc.

vi. Power tariff

All IT companies operating in Andhra Pradesh shall be eligible for industrial tariff towards their power consumption.

vii. Transport subsidy

A transport subsidy of INR 500/- per employment position per month shall be provided for a period of 2 years, capped to a maximum of INR 10 lakhs per firm.

viii. Incentives to training institutes

Training institutes registered in the State and having a physical premises in the State shall be offered a one-time incentive of INR 10,000/- per local full-time direct employment position facilitated in the State.

ix. Land allotment for IT industry

Allotment of Government land or land held by any authorized land allotment agency/ corporation of the Government to the IT companies/ or IT Parks would be based on the recommendation of CCITEI and shall be governed by the following principles:

a. IT firms

1. IT units with IT employee strength of 250 and minimum annual turnover of INR 15 Cr. over the past 3 financial years will be eligible to be considered for allotment of land.

2. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure employment of at least 500 entry- level IT professionals or equivalent per acre within 3 years of date of allotment of land.

b. IT campuses

1. Allocation of land to Indian IT companies to develop their own IT campus will be based on the condition that the company has a current headcount of minimum 10,000 people globally or a turnover of INR 500 Cr. in the past 3 financial years.

2. Allocation of land to foreign IT companies to develop their own IT campus will be based on the condition that the company is either a Fortune 1,000 company or has a market capitalization of at least USD 50 Million (Approx. INR 350 Cr.).

3. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure employment of at least 500 entry- level IT professionals or equivalent per acre within 3 years of date of allotment of land.

c. IT parks Allocation of land to any IT park developer will be based on the condition that the developer has prior experience of developing IT Park(s) with cumulative built up space of minimum 10,00,000 sft. and minimum annual revenue of INR 25 Cr. over the past 3 financial years. The IT park developer must ensure an employment of at least 500 entry- level IT professionals or equivalent per acre in the IT park within 6 years of date of allotment of land. Proposals for development of IT parks with a minimum of 5,00,000 sft. built-up space (excluding parking) will be considered under this category.

d. Land usage

1. Mixed purpose land usage will be allowed up to 30 percent of the developed land allotted, towards commercial activities including employee housing/ recreation. Only the IT companies/ developers eligible for a minimum 10 acres of land shall be permitted to avail this provision. 2. The mode of land allotment to IT industry shall be based on the prevailing allotment rules of the land allotment agency. Any exemptions shall be considered on a case to case basis.

3. Notwithstanding the above clause, the ITE&C department will issue separate guidelines for concept cities.

x. Land Cost Incentive for IT Parks A one-time incentive of INR 50,000 per employment created capped at 60 percent of the land value will be granted to the developer as a reimbursement on land cost, provided the IT park developer creates at least 5,000 entry-level jobs or equivalent within the park.

xi. Customized incentive package The Government may in its discretion approve a customized package of incentives for the IT industry/ IT developers and may relax any of the conditions mentioned in the policy, to mega projects, based on the scale of investment, employment, high value addition and potential for attracting further investments. Mega projects are those projects generating employment of a minimum 5,000 entry-level IT professionals or equivalent or an investment of at least INR 500 Cr. The companies which are approved under the customized package of incentives shall be eligible to claim only such approved incentives.

9. ITE&C Department as a Service Provider to all GoAP Departments The total budget outlay of Government of Andhra Pradesh is about INR 2.24 lakh Cr. for the year 2020-21. The Government's IT spend (services, software and hardware) is more than 1 percent of its total annual budget outlay. Such a significant IT spend presents a strong case for centralized procurement of IT across Government departments.

The ITE&C Department also plays the role of facilitating and attracting investments into the State in IT/ IT Enabled Services sector, generating employment and economic development within the State. Centralized procurement of IT services, software, and hardware enables the Government to use levers such as preferential market access for all IT and hardware procurements by the Government, and thus provide an impetus for attracting IT firms into the State. Centralization of procurement of IT requirements is expected to bring about several benefits to the State including significant improvements in the quality of IT services, ensure compliance to common standards, guidelines, and compliance matrices through various stages of procurement reduce36 security risks, reduce effort and time, lesser duplication of work, and enable cost savings related to IT software and hardware procurement.

The following mechanism shall be adopted for achieving convergence in achieving Government to Government (G2G) service provision:

i. Government should strictly enforce, by suitable orders, that the concerned departments/ bodies should avail the services for IT software and hardware procurement from ITE&C Dept., ensure the compliance of common standards, and implement data security measures.

ii. ITE&C Dept. through its authorized agency, Andhra Pradesh Technology Services (APTS), shall be mandated for IT and hardware procurement in the State to realize economies of scale and ensure quality.

iii. Procurement of Hardware, Software, Networking products and services where the value of procurement in each case exceeds INR 10 lakhs, shall be mandatorily implemented through APTS.

iv. APTS will establish rate contract for commonly procured IT hardware devices and software services to enable departments to procure the same directly from the rate contract portal (maintained by APTS), where the value of procurement in each case is less than INR 10 lakhs.

v. The ITE&C department through its agency shall levy applicable service charges for procurements covered under paras 9(iii) and 9(iv).

vi. APTS shall adopt a service based model such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Communication as a Service (CaaS), Monitoring as a Service (MaaS), cyber security as a service, payment gateway services etc. for the above procurement purposes.

10. Local procurement preference

i. The department shall develop a portal that shall act as an interface between Government departments and industry, to enable market access to local IT firms. ii. For any IT requirements up to a value of INR 1 Cr., the Government shall procure 100 percent value of procurement from IT companies/ startups operating in Andhra Pradesh as long as the quality of product/ service is found to be comparable with similar offering from other IT firms. Firms with at least 50 employees in the State and having a registered office in the State shall be eligible for such preferential market access.

iii. For any IT requirements above a value of INR 1 Cr., the Government shall give preference to IT companies operating in Andhra Pradesh by way of adding 5 percent additional marks in the technical evaluation, as long as the quality of product/ service is found to be comparable with similar offering from other IT firms. The detailed procedures shall be outlined in the operating guidelines to be released separately.

11. General provision relating to incentives

i. The incentives in the policy are intended to incentivize and encourage new investments and activities in the IT space that would otherwise have not materialized.

ii. The incentives listed herein would be available to IT companies setting up its operations in Andhra Pradesh for the first time and for the expansion activities of existing IT companies, unless the same has been claimed earlier. The detailed criteria for eligibility for incentives is outlined in the operational guidelines.

iii. The incentives to the eligible IT enterprises shall be disbursed within 6 (six) months from the date of issue of the order.

12. Governance

i. Andhra Pradesh Electronics and Information Technology Agency (APEITA) will be the nodal agency for implementing the Policy.

ii. Further, CCITEI shall be responsible for the following aspects of implementing the Policy:

a. Incentive approvals and administration b. Land, and plug and play space allotment including land extent c. Resolving ambiguity in interpretation of the policy d. Other aspects as approved by the department

iii. The detailed operating guidelines for the Policy shall be issued separately.

The ITE&C Department shall issue appropriate operational guidelines for the implementation of the Policy with prescribed procedure for claiming the incentives.

*** Manner of execution of Incentives/Programmes under Andhra Pradesh Electronics Policy 2014-2020

The Indian market for electronics goods stood at USD 118.2 Billion in the year 2019-20 and is expected to quadruple to USD 400 Billion by 2025, driven by growth in income levels and higher disposable incomes. Mobile phones, Industrial electronics, Strategic electronics are some of the major sub-sectors in electronics with growth potential in India.

Electronics manufacturing has become one of the fastest growing manufacturing industries in the world with a global production of about USD 2 Trillion in 2017-18. While traditionally countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan have led the manufacturing output, the fast-changing trade equations between major economies worldwide combined with the supply chain rearrangements as a result of COVID-19 pandemic are causing investments to flow into countries such as India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector currently provides employment to about 20 lakh people in the country and the Government of India in its National Policy for Electronics 2019 highlighted the strategic importance of electronics manufacturing and set a target to produce 1 billion mobile handsets by 2025.

Context for AP Electronics Policy: In view of the potential for fast growth and generation of large scale employment in the sector, the State of Andhra Pradesh has identified Electronics manufacturing as a focus area and aims to create employment for citizens of Andhra Pradesh. In this context, there is a need for a holistic policy framework for Electronics sector in Andhra Pradesh to compete with other States which have an existing Electronics ecosystem along with attractive incentives and tap into investments coming to India.

AP Electronics Policy 2021-24: 1. Definitions 1.1. Electronics manufacturing refers to the activity of assembling electronics finished goods, assemblies, sub-assemblies.

1.2. Electronics components manufacturing is defined as the activity of producing specified basic discrete devices or physical entities that are used in Electronics manufacturing.

1.3. Electronics industry refers to organizations that are involved in activities such as design and development, manufacture, assembly, testing of electronic finished goods and electronic components and servicing of electronic equipment.

1.4. Electronics Manufacturing Cluster refers to a dedicated area intended for establishing multiple electronics industries with common and social infrastructure.

1.5. Business Proposal refers to the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to be submitted as per prescribed template by an electronics industry intending to establish operations in the State.

1.6. Investment capacity means the quantum of proposed investment in the State by an electronics industry for which the said industry can provide source of funds.

1.7. CCITEI refers to an empowered 'Consultative Committee for IT and Electronics Industry' constituted by the State Government with the representatives of Government and industry.

1.8. Mega industry refers to an electronics industry with an investment over INR 500 Cr. or employment over 4,000.

1.9. Micro, small and medium enterprises are defined as per the Government of India Act.

1.10. Common Facility Centre refers to the facility that provides common infrastructure such as packaging and warehousing, effluent & water treatment plants, testing and certification facilities, 3D printing facilities, Maker labs, Prototyping facilities, mail room etc.

1.11. Local employment would be defined as per the AP Employment of Local Candidates Act 2019.

1.12. Zone A is defined as brownfield electronic manufacturing clusters developed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh or it's agencies.

1.13. Zone B is defined as greenfield Electronics Manufacturing Clusters being developed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh or it's agencies. 1.14. SC/ ST enterprise is an enterprise with 100% Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe (ST) entrepreneurs. SC/ ST entrepreneur refers to a person belonging to SC / ST Category as notified by the Government of Andhra Pradesh from time to time. All non-statutory concessions granted to S.C. (Hindus) by the State Government including economic support schemes sanctioned by A.P. Scheduled Castes Cooperative Finance Corporation have been extended to Scheduled Caste converts to Christianity and Buddhism as per orders issued in the G.O.Ms.No.341, Social Welfare (PR) Dept. dated 30.8.1977.

1.15. BC enterprise is an enterprise with 100% Backward Class (BC) entrepreneurs. BC entrepreneur refers to a person hailing from Andhra Pradesh and belonging to BC Category as notified by the Government of Andhra Pradesh from time to time.

1.16. Women enterprise is an enterprise with 100% women entrepreneurs. 1.17. Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA) is a body to promote local self- governance of industrial areas involving the taxpayer's community in the notified industrial areas in the management/ maintenance of such industrial areas.

2. Context Globally, consumption of electronic devices in every sphere of life, ranging from consumer electronics to industrial, automotive, defense and aerospace applications has been increasing at a rapid pace. In this context, Electronics manufacturing has become one of the fastest growing manufacturing industries in the world with a global production of about USD 2 Trillion in 2017-18.While traditionally countries such as China, South Korea and Taiwan have led the manufacturing output, the fast-changing trade equations between major economies worldwide are seeing investments flowing into countries such as India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Indian market for electronics goods stood at USD 118.2 Billion in the year 2018-19 and is expected to quadruple to USD 400 Billion by 2025, driven by growth in income levels and higher disposable incomes. Mobile phones, Industrial electronics, Strategic electronics are some of the major sub-sectors in electronics with growth potential in India. The Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) sector currently provides employment to about 20 lakh people in the country and the Government of India in its National Policy for Electronics, 2019 highlighted the strategic importance of electronics manufacturing and set a target to produce 1 billion mobile handsets by 2025.

3. Advantage Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh is strategically located on the Southeast coast of India and is a natural gateway to East & Southeast Asia. The State has a population of 49.3 million, accounting for 4 percent of India's population. Andhra Pradesh is a naturally conducive destination for Electronics manufacturing industry owing to its logistics infrastructure comprising of 5 operational ports, 6 operational airports, and excellent road and rail network which facilitate smooth inward and outward freight. The State also has 40,000 acres of land bank and provides 24x7 reliable, quality power and water to the industry. The State is developing two industrial corridors, namely Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) and Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC). Both VCIC and CBIC are being developed with 4 nodes each at strategic locations with access to all critical infrastructures. Andhra Pradesh is the easiest State to do business and has been ranked 1st in World Bank's and Government of India's Ease of Doing Business ranking in the previous three ranking editions.

Electronics manufacturing sector is poised for rapid growth in Andhra Pradesh. The State is consistently featuring in the top 3 destinations in India for mobile manufacturing. Major global firms have started operations in the State and the State is also receiving multiple investment proposals for setting up of electronics manufacturing firms. Moreover, the State's electronics exports are starting to rise, with the State clocking USD 70 million exports in 2018-19 alone.

Andhra Pradesh is also home to highly skilled technical resources with a host of premier government institutes such as IIT, IIIT, IIM, IISER, JNTU, SV University, Andhra University and IIDT in addition to Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) that impart manufacturing related skill among the youth. Further, the State is well located close to major consumption centers such as Chennai, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad thereby enabling manufacturers to reduce their cost of supply to the market.

4. Vision The Government of Andhra Pradesh is committed to developing the State in a holistic manner. This policy envisions "Transforming the State of Andhra Pradesh into a preferred investment destination for the Electronics sector while focusing on backward integration of the manufacturing value chain, moving beyond assembly operations".

The State will also endeavor to work with the Government of India to align the State's initiatives and incentive schemes with those of Government of India and leverage underlying synergies.

5. Objectives The policy aims to create large scale direct employment and create a robust Electronics ecosystem during the policy period, by way of:

5.1. Focus on upstream value chain 5.2. Creating large scale employment in the thrust areas of Mobile phones, Consumer electronics, Industrial electronics, Electronics components and Strategic electronics.

5.3. Creating a robust infrastructure for the Electronics manufacturing industry in the form of Electronics Manufacturing Clusters along with plug and play manufacturing sheds

5.4. Capitalizing on growth in domestic consumption 5.5. Creating industry ready talent pool and fulfilling demand for skilled human resource

5.6. Focusing on fast growing sub-sectors such as mobile phones, consumer electronics, strategic electronics across traditional assembly and electronic component manufacturing including batteries, screens, camera modules, Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) among many others

5.7. Promoting innovation and R&D in the industry and ensuring continuous technology up gradation

6. Policy validity The policy will be valid from 1st April 2021 until 31st March 2024, unless superseded by a new policy or by a modification to this policy. The policy supersedes the previous Electronics policies, along with their amendments and addendums.

7. Interventions for growth of Electronics manufacturing ecosystem

7.1. Electronics Manufacturing Clusters

The IT,E&C Dept., through a designated nodal agency, shall build new Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs) in the State, offering the best in class Electronics manufacturing infrastructure coupled with other resources critical to the growth of the Electronics manufacturing industry. Additionally, the department shall explore the development of sub-sector specific parks and MSME parks for Electronics manufacturing wherever feasible.

7.2. Land allotment for Electronics industry

Land allotment to Electronics industry shall be done by a designated agency only on the recommendations of CCITEI.

7.3. Land usage

Mixed purpose land usage will be allowed up to 25 percent of the developed land allotted towards employee housing/ recreation.

7.4. Ready to occupy infrastructure41 The IT,E&C Dept. shall initiate the creation of manufacturing sheds with all critical common infrastructure to enable fast track commencement of operations for Electronics manufacturing firms.

7.5. Water Incentive:

Water cost and availability of large quantities of water are crucial for electronics manufacturing. The IT,E&C department shall strive to bring down the cost of water supply in EMCs so as bring down the water tariff to the extent possible.

7.6. Common Facilities Centers (CFCs)

The Government will undertake steps to utilize available Government of India (GoI) schemes to develop CFCs in identified Electronics manufacturing hubs in the State.

7.7. Effluent Treatment:

Electronics manufacturing entails generation of harmful effluents which can have harmful effects to both people and environment in the surroundings. Additionally, manufacturing firms must invest costly equipment in order to treat these effluents and any other harmful solid waste. The IT,E&C Department will work with APIIC and Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation (APEMC) to manage, treat and dispose all harmful effluents. The department will also ensure that the waste treatment is offered as a service at the lowest cost possible in all EMCs.

7.8. Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for creation of Electronics infrastructure Wherever possible the State will endeavor to develop Electronics manufacturing infrastructure such as Electronics Manufacturing Clusters, Common Facility Centers, ready-to-occupy infrastructure through a transparent Public Private Partnership model. Such a model would be governed by the following principles:

i.IT,E&C department, through a designated nodal agency, will select a suitable partner for each project, to be a developer or a consortium of developers and industry players.

ii.Such selected partner will be responsible to bring in the necessary investment for the creation of infrastructure and in turn market the facilities wherever applicable.

iii.Relaxation to AP Building Rules would be considered, subject to the payment of City Level Infrastructure Impact Fee and clearances from Fire Services or any appropriate authority and conformance to National Building Code and statutory regulations.

7.9. Skill development centers The Government of Andhra Pradesh is setting up 30 skill development centers and a high-end IT skills university. The IT,E&C department will work with the Department of Skill Development as well as industry to leverage synergies and create large-scale industry ready talent pool for the Electronics manufacturing sector.

7.10. Trade linkages The IT,E&C Dept. will organize trade linkages between countries by means of facilitating delegations from the State to visit leading Electronics manufacturing hubs globally, and hosting delegations from global Electronics manufacturing ecosystems in the State.

7.11. Research Hub and Funding An R&D hub will be established in the State to take advantage of the existing education ecosystem and create a culture of innovation through prototyping labs and testing centers. The Government will strive to establish a research and development (R&D) fund for the growth of R&D activities.

8. Business process reforms

8.1. Deemed Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA) approval for EMCs A deemed IALA approval would be given to the new EMCs in the State so that Electronics manufacturing units within these areas can commence operations immediately after getting an online acknowledgement by submitting a 'declaration of intent' with a condition to formalize all the approvals within 3 years. 8.2. Approvals The government aims to cut down complexity for the industry in moving from the initial planning phase to operationalization phase by bringing various reforms in land allotment, incentives approval, provision of infrastructure, permissions for commencement of operations and processing of incentive claims, through a dedicated investment portal.

For this, the Policy outlines the following measures:

8.2.1. White and green category Electronics industry units will be provided with deemed approvals in notified EMCs with a condition to formalize all approvals within 3 years.

8.2.2. Comprehensive investment portal to handle all project applications, permissions and incentive claims.

8.2.3. All land allotments and incentive approvals within the framework of policy to be decided by IT,E&C Dept. for firms under the Electronics industry.

8.2.4. Electronics Manufacturing Clusters to have all critical infrastructure till the boundary of the site.

8.2.5. Dedicated project teams will provide internal infrastructure in land sites within 60 days from purchase of land.

8.2.6. FSI norms would be relaxed within Electronics Manufacturing Clusters, subject to payment of prescribed premium.

8.2.7. Only investors seeking incentives beyond the scope of Policy to go through the Government route.

8.3. Statutory exemptions

8.3.1. General permission shall be available for 3-shift operations with women working in the night, subject to the Electronics industries taking the prescribed precautions in respect of safety and security of employees.

8.3.2. Electronics industries/ Electronics Manufacturing Clusters are declared as essential services under AP Essential Services Maintenance Act.

8.3.3. Industrial infrastructure at competitive rates43 8.3.4. IT,E&C department shall strive to offer infrastructure such as land and ready-to-use factory sheds to industry at competitive rates.

8.3.5. The extent of land allotment/ plug and play factory sheds to industrial units in notified EMCs and their cost and rentals respectively shall be as approved by CCITEI.

8.3.6. The land allotment agency shall adhere to such approvals of CCITEI with respect to the notified EMCs across the State.

9. Fiscal Incentives under the Policy (For Zone A and Zone B)

9.1. For Zone A and Zone B 9.1.1. Stamp duty

• Reimbursement of 100 percent stamp duty, transfer duty, and registration fee paid on sale/lease deeds on the first transaction only.

9.1.2. Investment subsidy

• 20 percent of Fixed Capital Investment (FCI) up to INR 20 Cr. for Electronics industries.

• 25 percent of Fixed Capital Investment (FCI) up to INR 25 Cr. for Electronics industries categorized as SC/ ST/ BC/ Women enterprises.

9.1.3. SGST reimbursement

• 100 percent net SGST reimbursement for a period of 8 years.

9.1.4. Power tariff (Only for Zone A)

• 24x7 uninterrupted power supply. • Fixed power cost reimbursement of INR 1.00 per unit for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production. • Fixed power cost reimbursement of INR 1.50 per unit for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production for electronics industries categorized as SC/ ST/ BC/ Women enterprises.

9.2. Additional incentives in Zone B: For firms setting up in Zone B, the below incentives will be provided additionally:

9.2.1. Power tariff

• 24x7 uninterrupted power supply. • The power tariff shall be invoiced at competitive rates of INR 4.50 per unit.

9.2.2. Logistics subsidy

• Reimbursement of 25 percent of cost incurred on domestic transport up to a sum of INR 50 lakh per annum for 5 years. • Given increased interest by global Electronics industry firms in relocating their existing plants to India, as a special consideration, a reimbursement of 50 percent of cost incurred on import of manufacturing equipment, up to a sum of INR 2 Cr. shall be offered.

9.2.3. Interest subsidy:

• To provide interest subsidy on term loan @ 5 percent up to INR 1.50 Cr. per year for a period of 5 years.

10. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme The Electronics industries setting up operations in Zone B in the State as defined and qualifying for the PLI scheme as per its eligibility threshold criteria may opt for incentives under the scheme.

10.1. Eligibility threshold criteria Companies investing at least INR 100 Cr. or employment of 1,000 after date of notification of the policy shall be eligible for incentives under the scheme. Further, the list of specified items eligible for the scheme shall be listed in the operating guidelines to be released separately. 10.2. Financial incentive The scheme shall extend an incentive of up to 5 percent on annual incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in Andhra Pradesh and covered under target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of 10 years subsequent to the base year. Only the FCI invested after date of notification of the policy shall be considered. 10.3. Base year Financial Year 2021-22 shall be treated as the base year for computation of incremental investment and incremental sales of goods manufactured in Andhra Pradesh. Incentives under the scheme shall be applicable from 01.04.2022.

11. Administration of incentives

11.1. The incentives in the policy are intended to incentivize and encourage new investments and activities that would otherwise have struggled to happen or not materialized.

11.2. The incentives proposed herein are applicable to Electronics industry firms setting up operations in EMCs developed by any agency of Government of Andhra Pradesh.

11.3. The overall incentives will be capped to a maximum of 50% of FCI in Zone A and 100% of FCI in Zone B.

11.4. The investors eligible for PLI scheme may also choose customized package of incentives that are a mix of incentives under PLI scheme and other fiscal incentives on operational expenses as provided in para 9 of this document.

11.5. The incentive disbursement under the policy shall be limited to a maximum of 10% of FCI in each financial year.

11.6. Only the investment and employment generated after the date of notification of the policy shall be considered.

11.7. Incentives will be disbursed only after successful realization of the year on year committed employment and investment as per the DPR provided by the investor.

11.8. The incentives listed herein would be available to companies setting up operations in Andhra Pradesh for the first time and to the expansions of existing companies, unless the same has been claimed earlier.

11.9. The disbursement of incentive to the eligible enterprises shall be disbursed within 6 months from the date of issue of the order.

12. Customized incentive package

12.1. Customized incentive package: The companies which are approved under the customized package of incentives shall be eligible to claim only such approved incentives. In order to be eligible under this package, the Electronics manufacturing unit/ company has to generate an employment of more than 4,000 people or invest INR 500 Cr. or above in the State. 12.2. Special incentive package for Semiconductor and LCD fabs: The Government of Andhra Pradesh will work with large investors with an investment over INR 7,500 Cr. (USD 1 Billion) to create a global fab manufacturing destination. The government will make efforts to not only fast track such investment proposals through a special committee setup but also ensure that these investors are ensured infrastructure and skilled manpower in a rapid manner.

13. Encouraging State manufacturing firms in AP Government projects

13.1. Preferential Market Access Preference shall be given to Electronics industry operating in Andhra Pradesh as per the directions of Government from time to time.

14. Governance of the Policy

14.1. Andhra Pradesh Electronics & Information Technology Agency (APEITA) will act as a nodal agency for implementing the Policy.

14.2. Further, CCITEI shall be responsible for the following aspects of implementing the Policy:

14.2.1. Eligibility of firms as Electronics manufacturing or component manufacturers

14.2.2. Incentive approval and administration 14.2.3. Land allotment including extent of land 14.2.4. Settling any ambiguity in interpretation of the policy 14.2.5. Other aspects as approved by the Government 14.3. A steering committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary shall be constituted for classification of upcoming EMCs in the State as Zone A or Zone B.

14.4. The detailed operating guidelines for the Policy shall be published separately.

The IT,E&C Department shall issue appropriate operational guidelines for the implementation of the Policy with prescribed procedure for claiming the incentives.

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CHAPTER 13

Particulars of Facilities Available To Citizens For Obtaining Information

CHAPTER - 14 Particulars of Recipients of Concessions, Permits or Authorization Granted by the

Public authority

{Section 4(1)(b)(xiiii)}

Names, Designations & Particulars of Public Information Officers

CHAPTER - 15

Information Available in Electronic Form

{Section 4(1)(b)(xiv)}

Information Available in Electronic Form & The officer concerned Details of the information related to various schemes of the department

CHAPTER – 16

CITIZEN'S CHARTER

As per the recommendation of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission

Particulars of Facilities available to Citizens for Obtaining Information {Section 4(1)(b)(xv)} The particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for public use;

There is no separate Library facility for Secretariat Departments including Infrastructure & Investment Department. There is Central Library in Secretariat. The Law and Planning departments have separate Libraries which maintain the Acts and Rules of all the Departments and are commonly used by other departments.

CHAPTER – 17

Names, Designations and other Particulars of Public Information officers {Section 4 (1)(b)(xvi)} Public Information Officer (s)

Other Useful Information (Section 4 (1 ) (b) (xvii) Such other information as may be prescribed and thereafter update these publications every year

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B. SUNDAR SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT (FAC)