The Hindu Business Line : TN processing Rs 4,000-cr investments in IT sector

The Tamil Nadu Government is processing investments worth Rs 4,000 crore in IT and related sectors, according to Mr C. Umashankar, Managing Director, Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (ELCOT).

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr Umashankar said this includes a major investment in the sector. However, he refrained from elaborating further on the projects and the time line.

He said the State continued to be a favoured IT destination and is in the process of adding about 55 million square feet for office space, which includes infrastructure in some Tier II cities, where Elcot has taken initiative to construct facilities. While Elcot itself was in the process of setting up two special economic zones, the State has received in-principle clearance for some 10 more IT SEZs.

Software exports

Referring to software exports from the State, Mr Umashankar said that last fiscal, the State witnessed a growth rate of 32 per cent and registered total software exports of $3.14 billion and expects a growth rate of 32-35 per cent this fiscal.

Nokia, Flextronics, Dell, Motorola and Samsung have set up plants in the State. Significantly, Nokia has highlighted how production in Tamil Nadu and India is cheaper by about 11 per cent compared to a similar facility in China.

Dell Corporation, which has set up a manufacturing base, expects to ship its personal computers and servers made in Chennai in March-April 2007.

TN support

While complimenting Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh for strides they have made in the IT sector, Mr. Umashakar said all the top 10 IT companies have already established their presence in Tamil Nadu and continue to expand their operations. This has been well supported by the large human resource base which churns out some 1,10,000 engineering graduates per year, which in fact is more than what US produces.

Referring to the dual grid for power supply to the technology sector, he said that the State was power surplus by 3,500 MW and expects to add about 6,000 MW additional capacity within three years.

As a part of the State's efforts to spread the impact of IT and also decongest Chennai, the State has identified six major Tier II cities for growth. This is complimented by training provided to teachers and students to enlarge the HR base. Elcot was open to sharing the content developed by them with other States, he said.

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