IT startup reaches rural Telangana

Huzurabad (Karimnagar): Indicating that small towns are fast catching up with the metros, Huzurabad, a semi-urban area sandwiched between Karimnagar and Warangal cities, surprisingly dotted the IT map with a ‘startup’ on Wednesday.

Thanks to the Telangana government’s Rural Technology Centre policy that came in handy for the 26-year-old software engineer Rohith Chandra Ponnam to initiate an IT Startup targeting web, app development, testing and other services in this small town of 40,000 odd people.

Rohith, who did his Masters in Australia, is one of the guys of new wave generation willing to try out different things. After starting Telekha Networking Technologies in Hyderabad last year, he wanted to pitchfork the young grads hailing from rural areas to be part of his scheme of things.

Speaking to The Hans India, he said: “With NIT Warangal and JNTU Manthani (Karimnagar) are not far away and a host of engineering colleges around Huzurabad, I don’t think that grooming young talent on par with that of IT professionals based in Hyderabad will be a huge task.

My startup could be a huge advantage for the local graduates as they learn and gain experience before plunging themselves into the highly competitive pool of IT professionals.”

Working with a startup company in rural areas is also of immense help for those youngsters struggling to overcome English language barrier, he said. It’s learnt that the startup which presently has a staff of 12 is aiming to recruit another 25.

Although he launched the startup with an investment of Rs 10 lakh, the company will get several fiscal and non-fiscal benefits under the Telangana government’s Rural Technology Centre policy.

Some of them are: Rental subsidy of 25 per cent per square feet for three years; 25 per cent reimbursement on internet and telephone charges for the first three years of operations; training subsidy of Rs 2,500 a month per person; recruitment assistance at the rate of Rs 20,000 per employee for a minimum annual recruitment of 50 new IT professionals from the colleges located in the State.

IT Minister KT Rama Rao, who inaugurated the Startup on Wednesday said: “Hyderabad has already become a software hub with four of the five top companies already setting up their units and now it’s time to spread the IT wings to rural parts of the State.

Once the laying of fibre optic cables along with the construction of pipeline for the Mission Bhagiratha programme is completed, every household in the State will stand to get broad band internet service.”