The Hindu Business Line : Mangalore STPI formal launch on Aug 25

WITH the formal inauguration of a software technology park in Mangalore scheduled for the 25th of this month, the Dakshina Kannada district, said to be `at the edge of a silent IT revolution', is gearing up to become the `second IT destination in Karnataka after Bangalore,' according to Government officials.

Software exports from Mangalore which touched Rs 280 crore last year are expected to cross Rs 350 crore this year and are said to be more than the software exports of the whole of Kerala and two-and-a-half times the software exports from Gujarat.

Addressing a press conference here today to announce the formal inauguration of the Mangalore unit of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), the IT Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, Mr Vivek Kulkarni, accompanied by other STPI officials, said that the Government had now decided to target and `tap the potential' of not just State capitals, but also `secondary cities'.

Mysore and Manipal have already been targeted, with STPI centres operational in these cities for the past three years, Mangalore has followed suit, and Hubli is in the pipeline. In fact, according to the officials, despite the fears of a slowdown, software exports from the whole of Karnataka are expected to grow by 35-40 per cent this year.

The Mangalore centre provides incubation facilities and the STPI network offers bandwidth in multiples of 64 Kbps to 45 Mbps or higher, international private leased lines, and end-to-end network management.

The region is also said to offer a `competitive edge' to investors because of the low cost of infrastructure, real estate and manpower in Mangalore. Real estate costs are said to be 25-30 per cent lower than in Bangalore, support costs are estimated to be 20 per cent and manpower costs 30 per cent lower than in Bangalore.

The Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, and the Union Minister for Information Technology Mr. Pramod Mahajan, among others would take part in the inauguration ceremony.

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