The Hindu Business Line : TN firm on 'leadership' position in IT

WITH an abundance of technically skilled and highly trained human resource required for IT/IT-enabled services, Tamil Nadu is determined to capture the leadership position in India in the information age, said the State Minister for Law and IT, Mr D. Jayakumar.

The destination of choice initiatives by the State Government address not only locations in Chennai but also places such as Coimbatore, Hosur, Tiruchi and Madurai, he said in his inaugural speech at Connect2004, the State's information, communication and technology event.

Tamil Nadu clocked a double digit growth in software exports to Rs 7,622 crore for 2003-04.Chennai and its suburbs continue to be major software exporting locations with exports from these locations at Rs 7,558 crore, followed by Coimbatore at Rs 46 crore and Tiruchi at Rs 13 crore. Application software and system software topped the export table with 60 per cent, followed by consultancy services at 28 per cent and IT-enabled services at 8 per cent. The Government plans to install a State-wide area network at a cost of Rs 100 crore, he said.

According to Mr Jayakumar, the Connect series has grown significantly in the last four years. Connect2001, the first edition, attracted 10,000 visitors, 300 corporate participants and 60 exhibitors. The second edition attracted 80 exhibitors, 500 corporate houses and 40,000 visitors. Connect2003 did better than the previous two events, he said.

Connect2004 addresses the needs and concerns of Indian industries to enhance their competitiveness through an enterprise information and communication technology (ICT) strategy.

Mr Vivek Harinarain, IT Secretary, said that Tamil Nadu would provide the industry a friendly business eco-system. The State would not get into a domain that it does not know, and the IT industry is free to do what it wants.

"The Tamil Nadu Government is behind you (the IT industry) and in some case a step ahead of you. Tamil Nadu assures you that there would not be any hassle in doing business in the State. Red tape and agents of red tapes would not come into the eco-system."

The four-day Connect2004 includes conferences and exhibitions on all the days. This year's conference themes are i-Govern, Smart Man 2004 and i-Serve 2004.

More Stories on : Events | Software | Tamil Nadu

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page