New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Haryana has received more than 100 proposals for setting up special economic zones (SEZs), which will bring investments worth Rs.50,000 crore and create 1.5 million jobs, a senior government official said Saturday.

‘The state has received over 100 proposals for setting up SEZs, out of which about 70 are for setting up IT SEZs,’ Financial Commissioner and Principal Industries Secretary Yudhvir Singh Malik told IANS.

‘They will bring investments worth Rs.50,000 crore besides providing employment to about 15 lakh people,’ Singh said.

Out of the 70 IT SEZ proposals, three SEZs have already become operational, six have been notified by the state government and 35 formally approved by the central government.

‘Haryana has also approved 74 cyber or IT parks in the state, out of which 27 have been granted licences. The export of software this year has been of the order of Rs.21,000 crore, against Rs.18,000 crore last year,’ Malik said.

The state government has been paying enough attention to the growth of the IT sector, he said.

‘To support IT exports, the government has formulated an IT policy, wherein a number of incentives like five-year exemption on payment of electricity duty, rebate on stamp duty for new IT units, priority in loans, relaxation in pollution norms and continuous and uninterrupted power supply have been provided,’ Malik said.

During the last four-and-a-half years, the state has been able to attract investments to the tune of Rs.40,000 crore.

During this period, the state has received foreign direct investment (FDI) to the tune of Rs.9,000 crore, as against the total FDI of Rs.12,500 crore received in the state since its inception.