Techies log in to reboot city’s IT

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Hyderabad: IT professionals in the city have formed a Joint Action Committee to strive towards bringing back the glory of Hyderabad as a IT hub that was lost in recent times due to political uncertainties and agitations.
Scores of techies have come together to form the Hyderabad IT Employees’ Association JAC with a slogan of ‘Save IT, save Hyderabad’ and have appealed to political parties not to tarnish the city’s image further. “Otherwise the city will disappear from the IT map and future generations will suffer,” said JAC chairman M. Brahmaiah.
IT professionals say that the state has paid a heavy price since 2009, when the Telangana agitations took off. “IT exports from the state, which was Rs 31,039 crore in 2008-09, dipped to Rs 27,666 crore in the next financial year. There was a slight increase in the subsequent years as the industry felt that normalcy would be restored,” said JAC convener N. Raju, adding that the latest figure stood at Rs 30,000 crore.
The neighbouring states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, meanwhile, have benefitted from Hyderabad’s woes. TN’s IT exports grew from Rs 38,356 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 49,081 crore in 2011-12, Karnataka’s from Rs 70,375 crore to Rs 82,110 crore and Maharashtra’s from Rs 42,361 crore to Rs 46,262 crore.
The JAC has also decided to launch ITism — IT in social media — to bring awareness among IT professionals and lay people on the need to protect the industry in the city. “We can’t name firms but it is a bitter fact that many have shifted their projects to other cities, dropped expansion plans and in some cases, even closed down operations,” said Brahmaiah.
The rate of new recruitment has also sunk to 10,000 a year from the earlier 30,000-40,000. The JAC will hold a round-table conference inviting top brass of IT firms and prepare a report comprising their views on improving the situation. It will also meet the Governor, CM, IT minister and Leader of Opposition.
Maintaining that they were apolitical, the JAC leaders said the Centre must take immediate steps to put to rest insecurity among IT professionals.