The Hindu Business Line : Assurance to bring US cos into Tier-II cities

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Madurai Jan. 24 The US Consul-General, Chennai, Mr David T. Hopper, assured attention of American businessmen and investors to the inherent advantages and business growth potential of Tier-II cities in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking at an inter-active session on `US-India Business Growth Potential in Tier-II Cities' organised by the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said cheap labour and real estate costs and low attrition rates would make more companies to look to these cities in the context of cost pressure characterising the metropolitan cities.

Yet, for the companies entering India for the first time, Tier-I cities remained the preferred destination as they provided higher comfort level. However, the increased attention paid to the development of infrastructure in these cities should help them compete effectively with the Tier-I cities. What is additionally required is the effort to make the graduates from these cities `industry-ready' to enhance their employability.

In this context, he appreciated the proposal to set up an IT Academy and expressed a willingness to associate in the development of the curriculum, training of faculty and the development of the content.

Speaking further, he said post-liberalisation, India has experienced exponential growth in sectors thrown open to global business such as IT and Telecom sectors and India would do better replicating this success in sectors such as retail, infrastructure, education and agro-industries.

Waiting Time

In the interactive session that followed, he said the Consulate at Chennai has been working hard to reduce the waiting time taken in granting the appointment for the first time for visa purposes.

Since December last, with an increase in staff strength, the time lag has been successfully reduced from months to weeks and the backlog has been drastically cut. High value business visas would not take more than two weeks, he added.

More Stories on : Foreign Trade | Tamil Nadu

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