Bengali Business Network(BBN)

Infosys plans software centre in Kolkata

August 27, 2004 14:58 IST

Infosys Technologies Ltd has agreed in principle to set up a software development centre in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee said on Friday.

"I was trying to convince Mr Narayana Murthy (Infosys founder and chairman) for the last 3-4 years to come to Kolkata and finally he has accepted our invitation and agreed in principle," Bhattacharjee said at an industry-academia meet for IT and ITeS sector jointly organised by Confederation of Indian Industry, National Association of Software and Service Companies and West Bengal government's IT department.

He said despite being a late starter West Bengal had been making rapid strides in the IT sector.

"West Bengal's share in the country's total IT export increased from three per cent in 2002 to five per cent in 2003. Now our target is to achieve 15 per cent share in IT and 20 per cent in ITES by 2010," he said.

At present, Kolkata had a stable infrastructure back-up with quality power and strong connectivity in place. Adequate bandwidth in the gateways was also available to meet the requirements of IT and ITES industries, he said.

Kolkata offered about 580 Mbps of international satellite connectivity through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Software Technology Parks of India. Two more satellite earth stations at Durgapur and Kharagpur had also started functioning recently, Bhattacharjee said.

Besides VSNL, private players like Reliance Infocomm and Bharti were operating in Kolkata and providing adequate bandwidth, he said, adding the built-up infrastructure was readily available for any IT unit to start operations immediately.

Bhattacharjee said the state government had taken steps to create software technology parks in places other than Kolkata to spread IT industry and match future demands.

To meet the emerging demands, two more locations at the Sunrise City near the Eastern Metropolitan By-pass were being developed, he said.

The state government was now targeting to develop Kolkata's satellite township Rajarhat as an IT hub. "We have earmarked 150 acres for IT industry in Rajarhat and this space would be allotted to new players as well as Webel, an undertaking of the state government," he said.

HSBC in Kolkata

KOLKATA: HSBC Electronics Data Processing India, a subsidiary of HSBC group, would set up its fourth facility at Salt Lake which would be operational by August 2005.

After signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Bengal IT department on Wednesday, CEO of HSBC Electronics Data Processing Malcolm Wagget told reporters that the centre would be set up on a 3.5 acre plot where 500 people would be initially employed on a floor space of 1,80,000 square feet.

Subsequently, the headcount at the centre would be stepped up.

HSBC has similar facilities in India at Hyderabad, Bangalore and Vishakapatnam. Total headcount in India was 6,000 which would be increased to 6,500 in the current year.

State IT minister Manab Mukherjee said that the state government would hold road shows in Delhi shortly. He said that a team of Infosys was also coming to the city soon.

India's largest IT park in Kolkata

Real estate development major DLF Universal Limited, part of the Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion) DLF group, would set up the country's largest information technology park in West Bengal, which would be ready within 24 months.

Announcing this in Kolkata, on Thursday, chief executive of DLF Universal Yogesh Verma said the Rs 280-crore (Rs 2.8 billion) project would be built on a 10-acre plot in Rajarhat and would offer 1.3 million square feet workspace incorporating the latest technology.

Verma said that the first phase of the project would be operational by April 2005, adding that a renowned corporate had already booked a floor space of 300,000 square feet.

He said that the park would cater to information technology companies as well as business process outsourcing and call centres.

He said that once completed, nearly 10,000 people could work in the IT park on 24X7 basis with a underground parking facility for 2000 cars.

Bengal on hi-tech investment expressway

IT Minister, Manab Mukherjee with CM

Highlights:

“We have received investment worth Rs 2,000 crore in telecom and Rs 500 crore in IT and IT-enabled services since 2001-2002,” information technology minister Manab Mukherjee said. In his budget speech in the Assembly, the minister described the growth as “phenomenal”.

The government hopes to earn 10 per cent of the country’s revenue from the infotech sector by 2006-’07. “By 2010, we hope to earn 15 per cent of the country’s revenue from the IT sector,” Mukherjee said.

Efforts are on to get IT giant Infosys to invest in the state. Mukherjee pointed out that big players like IBM, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cognizant Technology Solutions and ITC Infotech are here already.