HARYANA has taken a major stride towards revolutionising the IT industry in the state with the opening of the Panchkula Technology Park. The park is expected to provide employment to 40,000 persons. Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while inaugurating the Park on Wednesday, in fact projected Panchkula as the next hot spot for IT in North India. According to the latest e-readiness assessment report released by the Centre recently, Haryana has jumped from 15th rank to 9th in the last two years in the field of information technology. The state has also recorded total software exports worth Rs 14,000 crore this year. For the development of the Panchkula Technology Park, situated between the hills adjoining Gurudwara Nada Sahib along NH 73 and Ghaggar river, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had allotted 97 acres land. After demarcation of outer boundary of the area, possession of 74.62 acres of land was taken over by HSIIDC from HUDA, after excluding the area of Ghaggar river near the bridge. Talking to ET, sources in the IT department said many companies had shown interest in investing in the region and HSIIDC has invited expression of interests for the same. “The state has exported software worth more than Rs 14,000 this time. Most of the companies are from Gurgaon and Faridabad. After these two places, our main focus will be on Panchkula. We have already been allotted a 70 acre plot for this and we have invited companies to come here. Some of the big companies have already evinced interest. We have invited EoIs for the IT park which will be closed on November 31,” an official said. Recently, the state government had formulated its e-governance roadmap and capacity building roadmap. According to the latest report, Haryana comes under the category of level one states in the country in implementation of the core infrastructure project of state wide area network (SWAN). The state will also be spending Rs 102.62 crore, to make all the offices of the state up to block level to be connected with SWAN by October 31, 2007. The government had also formulated the IT policy for promoting the IT and business process outsourcing industries in the state. The official said that various facilities like preferential allotment of land for IT industries, priority in time bound loans, relaxation in pollution control, rebate in stamp duty, exemption from electricity duty for five year to new IT units were being provided to the entrepreneurs. ON IT EXPRESSWAY The park is projected as the next major IT hub in North after Gurgaon and Faridabad Last date for submitting EoIs is November 31 Haryana has jumped from 15th rank to 9th in the last two years in IT sector, according to a latest report