The Hindu Business Line : TN plans to move IT into smaller cities, towns

GOOD GOING: Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, with the CII President & Ashok Leyland Managing Director, Mr R. Seshasayee, at a meeting in Chennai on Friday. Also seen at extreme right is Mr Shakthi Kanta Das, State Industries Secretary. — V. Ganesan

Chennai , July 28

Tamil Nadu will encourage investments in smaller towns and cities to enhance its competitive edge in information technology, according to Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

Addressing the national council meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry here today, he said that the next focus is Coimbatore as an investment destination for information technology. But the Government is also keen on promoting tier-three towns such as Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli.

Promoting information technology in Coimbatore, a manufacturing hub, would be tough - salaries tend to increase with information technology companies willing to pay more.

This would be a cause for concern for traditional industries there, he said.

Promoting the smaller cities and towns will not only spread economic development but also reduce pressure on large cities, Mr Maran said.

Apart from its traditional strengths in manufacturing, textiles, automobile and leather, the State is now pushing for information technology and service sector growth.

Tamil Nadu is emerging a leader in telecom equipment manufacturing and related products.

Last year, the country received investments of over $ 15 billion with $ 10 billion from the US alone.

Information technology and telecommunications, which were growing at 30-40 per cent, were driving the economy. Five million new mobile connections are being added every month and the industry was targeting 500 million connections by 2010.

`Diversification must'

But States also need to diversify their investment basket and attract manufacturing and services sector, Mr Maran said. Tamil Nadu, a manufacturing base, is pushing into information technology and telecommunication. Other States cannot afford to just put all their egg into one basket - service sector, he said.

Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Vice-President, CII, said that India would be consuming over $ 10 billion in telecommunications equipment and an equal quantity of hardware. It needs to leverage this market to attract manufacturers in these areas to invest here.

Responding to a question on qualified human resource in science and technology, Mr Maran said that the drop in numbers of candidates in higher education is a cause for concern. "This has been the curse of success in BPOs," he said.

Younger students were getting well-paid jobs and not continuing higher studies. Efforts were on to improve the curriculum and encourage students to study further. Nasscom is working in this direction and a programme is likely to commence in the next academic year. Industry could also participate in this effort, Mr Maran said.

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