The Hindu Business Line : Work on Rs 390-cr hi-tech city in B'lore to start soon

The Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr N. Dharam Singh, said BDA was expected to start work on the project in a couple of weeks, and the Government would unveil a hardware policy to encourage the development of the manufacturing industry.

At the inaugural of Bangalore IT.COM 2004, Mr Singh said the Government was committed to the orderly development of the city and would support the infrastructure needs of the industry.

The civic authorities have been asked to complete all ongoing projects in time, he said, adding that the city's rapid growth was responsible for some of the infrastructure problems it faced.

"Karnataka has seen a consistent growth in the IT sector, both in numbers and the value chain. The sector attracts maximum foreign direct investment and is the key driver of industrial growth in the State. Export of IT software from Karnataka increased by 48 per cent in rupee terms and 58 per cent in dollar terms during 2003-04.

"The IT sector provides employment to about 2.5 lakh youth and injects about Rs 7,000 crore to the city economy. This level of growth is putting the infrastructure of the city under tremendous pressure. Despite this, the Government is taking this up on a war footing to maintain the pre-eminence of Bangalore in the IT world," said Mr Singh.

Exports of IT software from Karnataka increased by 48 per cent in rupee terms and 58 per cent in dollar terms during 2003-04. Its share of exports in the overall IT exports of the country, which was 28 per dent during 2002-03, increased to 36 per cent in 2003-04.

168 new companies were registered during the previous year, of which 110 were foreign equity companies.

The number of companies coming to Bangalore has increased during the current year with 92 new companies registered between April and September 2004.

"Bangalore, which used to get one new foreign equity company every week is now attracting twoper week," Mr Singh said.

Mr M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda, Secretary, Information Technology and Bio-technology, said, "The event is an effective partnership between the Government, authorities and private companies, creating the perfect platform for greater growth and development of the IT industry in the State and across the country."

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