Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC) at RGCTP

The Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC) is a place that is conceived by the Chandigarh Administration in the prospering Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP) to enhance the export of the software export from Chandigarh and to assist young professionals in setting up their entrepreneurship by providing shell space or space with plug n play facilities in a state of the art environment friendly and an intelligent building. The project has been conceived as a transit point for the IT software export companies that are willing to come to the park, but as yet does not have a fully developed building of their own, or their built to suite plot is not yet constructed. This will also have the administrative offices of the IT dept that will be more accessible and approachable for the IT companies in the vicinity.

This project will be funded partly by Government of India through the Assistance to States for Developing Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE) Scheme, which is meant for export related projects.

The EDC would be a state of the art building where small and medium sized IT companies would occupy built up space for software development, R&D and other high value services, which will be for export purposes. This Centre would also provide incubation facilities for all the young IT entrepreneurs who will be given plug n play facilities The EDC project would be on the lines of the SPIC Incubation Centre situated in PEC, Sector 12, Chandigarh where already small IT companies have been provided an internet bandwidth connectivity by STPI for software export and already the SPIC Centre is contributing software exports worth Rs. 5 crores per annum. There was a huge potential in this segment and the growth could be exponential provided more such facility is created by the establishment of this Centre as there was a big gap in the demand and supply.

It is estimated that the EDC project would also become a big software export centre, apart from providing readymade space to young entrepreneurs who have bright ideas, but don't have the capital to create the infrastructure. With the establishment of the EDC in the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park, the city would benefit from the cumulative impact of the improved infrastructure for exports and the impact of the increased exports in the economy on employment and over all prosperity.

In addition to the above, the EDC will also have the Regional Cyber Security and Research Centre which is being set up in collaboration with NASSCOM. This Centre will cater to the needs of the IT Industry in providing assistance to the State Police authorities in the Chandigarh Capital Region, the technical inputs relating to providing security to their Intellectual Proprietary Rights of the IT professionals and will also help them tackle various issues arising out of Cyber security crimes.

The planning is done logically and on very effective and efficient data base.