Bhopal, Feb. 23: Uma Bharti today unveiled her government’s economic vision, saying its growth would centre around a cow-based economy and information technology.

“Enriched cattle wealth and optimal utilisation of information technology is the prime requirement to improve state’s farm-based economy,” the Madhya Pradesh chief minister said while addressing a state-level seminar and training programme for cowshed managers here today.

She added that a “model gaushala (cowshed)” would be set up at each block headquarter across Madhya Pradesh.

Bharti will tomorrow launch a software and hardware technology park here, spread over 40 acres, in the presence of information technology minister Arun Shourie.

The park is estimated to be completed in two years and developed as a joint venture, in association with the Centre and leading private infrastructure companies. The park will provide direct employment to about 10,000 IT professionals and indirect employment to an equal number in supporting services.

The park, located adjacent to the satellite tracking facility being set up by the Indian Space Research Organisation, will create state-of-the-art infrastructure for IT hardware manufacturing units as well as software development and IT-enabled service companies.

Bharti said her vision of a “sound economy” was based on “two streams of economic thinking.” She said cowsheds would improve village economies by providing milk, organic manure, bio-pesticides and helping generate electricity, while the technology park will provide space for setting up a Software Technology Parks of India international gateway, telecommunication facilities, dedicated electricity and water supply and power back-up facilities. Support infrastructure will include auditorium, conference halls, restaurants, banks, ATM counters and travel counters.

The chief minister said putting Madhya Pradesh on the “IT map of the country” was her “cherished dream”. The state currently has a very small share of India’s IT production and service market – hardware and software alike. Annual software exports from the state hover around Rs 75 crore and the industry is concentrated mainly in Indore. There is no hardware manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh.

Bharti said a task force set up for conservation of bovines would act as an advisory board, which would advise on how to manage and protect these animals. The chief minister said she was convinced cow-rearing could become a major economic activity, offering immense employment opportunities. Moreover, “service to mother cows should be voluntary and selfless”, she added, even as she urged gaushala managers to make a beginning for achieving economic prosperity “through selfless service to mother cow”.

Bharti conferred the Rastriya Gau Raksha award to Rajasthan’s Rajendra Singh Rajpurohit. She also released two books: Shradha Ke Suman and Gau Seva Se Swavalamban (Self-reliance through tending to cows).