Cabinet approves land for Microsoft, Honeywell

Hyderabad, Apr 17: With a view to make Andhra Pradesh a hub for IT/ITES/BPO operations in the country, the state cabinet today decided to allot land to IT giant Microsoft Corporation and M/s Honeywell, a Fortune 500 company.

Talking to newspersons here Information Minister Mohd Ali Shabeer said the cabinet meeting appproved additional 6.78 acres of land to Microsoft for the expansion of its software development Centre and ten acres to Honeywell in the APIIC Software Units layout.

The Congress Government had facilitated creation of 80975 jobs in the IT sector in the last two years as against 85,940 jobs created between 1997 and 2004 by the previous TDP regime, he said.

As part of its expansion, Microsoft, which employed over 50,000 employees world-wide and generated revenues exceeding USD 28 billion, promised to increase the headcount from the present 3600 software professions at its Rs 50 crore Hyderabad Centre to 5,500 professionals, he said.

M/s Honeywell has assured to make an investment of Rs 45 crore and achieve a turnover of Rs 700 crore and create jobs for 5500 professionals by 2009, he said, adding Honeywell's operations would create new job opportunities in the field of aerospace.

UNI