NASSCOM for liberalisation of education, continuation of STPI scheme

Mumbai, Feb 11 (UNI) Voice of the Indian IT industry, NASSCOM today sought the Centre to liberalise higher education and continue STPI tax concessions to enable the sector penetrate to tier two and tier three cities besides contribute to the economic development.

Talking to newsmen here, NASSCOM Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan said, liberalisation of higher education would mean that the sector could take necessary corrective measures in the syllabi to enable to generate employable graduates. Already 80 per cent of higher education was in the private sector and the government should go in for further liberalisation, he added.

NASSCOM President Som Mittal said, the sector was highly employment oriented, besides it was also enhancing the disposable income of the people thereby benefiting the other sectors of the economy. Under the circumstance, the nascent industry should be allowed to enjoy the STPI scheme, offering tax concessions to the industry for another ten years.

''Another reason for continuing the sops to the sector was that medium and small IT enterprises which did not have the number and size to make it to the Special Economic Zones would be deprived of the benefit, if the scheme was stopped and hence, it should be continued,'' he added. It was small and medium sector that was doing tremendous business in certain niche areas of the sector and in some of them they were world leaders, he said.

Further, he also said that for every direct employment in the sector, four indirect employment is generated and that the other budget proposals NASSCOM had submitted to the Union Minister related to fringe benefit tax.

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