The Bengal government will provide stamp duty and registration fee waiver as fiscal incentives for a period of five years to companies willing to set up data centre infrastructure in the state.

The incentives are part of a policy framed by the state government on data centres after taking inputs from the industry in August.

Speaking at a session organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday, state industry and information technology minister Partha Chatterjee said the transition to cloud has been accelerated by the Covid pandemic, resulting in the need to have more data centres.

The state has prepared a policy which focuses on the requirements of companies that intend to put up the requisite infrastructure.

“The purpose of this policy is to develop Bengal as a hub of data handling and storage. Data centres will be assisted with easy approvals, self certification, allowing optimal use of land as well as infrastructure such as optical fibre connectivity, quality power and water supply by the government,” said Chatterjee.

“We will also provide some fiscal benefits such as 100 per cent stamp duty and registration fee exemption for any transaction related to the setting up of a data centre for a period of five years from the date of start of commercial operations,” said Chatterjee.

The state has already seen interest from Reliance, Hiranandani Group, CtrlS and Nxtra for setting up data centres.

Industry sources said that the fiscal incentives along with the related data centre storage sharing and electronic data retention guidelines will give a clear picture to the investors in this segment. But the incentives are not materially different from the erstwhile West Bengal ICT Incentive Scheme of 2012 where eligible units were entitled to a refund of 100 per cent stamp duty and registration fee.

Chatterjee further said that the state government has extended support to Reliance Jio, including land, for setting up a cable landing station that will boost internet connectivity in the state.

However, government sources said that no progress has been made on the project since Jio officials visited the site offered by the state at Digha.

Chatterjee further said that the state is also considering a policy to encourage innovation and new initiatives in the IT and ITeS sectors.