Indore to soon start working 24X7 to facilitate IT, BPO sectors and start-ups

The Indore district administration in Madhya Pradesh is all set to open round-the-clock working activities in areas around the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) corridors to attract investment especially in the Information Technology sector, an official said.

Efforts are being made to start this within a week, he said.

Local administration held a meeting with police officials, business establishments and elected representatives on Saturday in Indore to discuss the roadmap for opening of such activities in certain areas of the state's biggest city. After the meeting, Indore Collector Manish Singh told reporters that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had in a workshop announced to make Indore the start-up capital of the state. ''It was suggested to open round-the-clock working not only to support IT companies, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) establishments, but also to strengthen the city economy. The CM had issued directives to work in this direction," he said.

The issue was delayed due to elections, but now it has been decided to open round-the-clock activities around the BRTS corridor in a phased manner and later other big squares will be included, the collector said.

Initially, the activities that need to be regulated include increased security and ensuring the movement of public transport, he said. There will be a ''negative'' list of activities like bars, liquor shops which will not be allowed in such areas, the official said. The administration is initially going to allow all activities except those in the negative list, but the barred activities will be updated as and when required in accordance with the circumstances, he said. A portal will be developed so that the outlets which want to run round-the-clock activities can register themselves. It has been decided that economic activities like food zones and other commercial activities up to 100 metres on both sides of the BRTS will be allowed, he said.

"Efforts are being made to implement this decision within seven days," he said. Singh said initially, the commercial establishments will take decisions according to their financial feasibility, but the administration is going to allow several activities. The public transport will be operated at a lower frequency as BRTSconnects the city's IT hub and areas where students, who study late in the night, reside, he said. The orders on these activities will specifically allow 24X7 operations of the IT companies and BPOs, he said, adding that many of them are doing so as of now. The population of Indore is estimated to have grown to more than 30 lakh now. According to the 2011 census, the population of Indore was 19.94 lakh.