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A. Roy Chowdhury

The gate’s open.

Shamik Paul

A late start notwithstanding, West Bengal remains committed to success in the IT sector. The Nabadiganta Industrial Township, where IT parks were first set up in Kolkata, was indeed a new horizon for the State.

Since then, the industry has grown considerably not only in Kolkata and the new Rajarhat Township, but also in smaller cities across West Bengal in spite of stiff competition from established IT strongholds.

Lower rates of attrition, lower costs of setting up businesses are seen as some of the inherent strengths of Kolkata, besides availability of skilled human resource.

Dr Debesh Das, Minister-in-Charge, Department of IT, Government of West Bengal, who was recently in Bangalore to meet industry leaders, talks about government initiatives to boost IT in the State as well as upcoming projects. Excerpts from the interview:

Would the Tatas pulling out have an adverse effect on IT investments in the State?

It will not affect the IT industry in West Bengal. We grew at a rate of 45 per cent in 2007-2008, whereas the average growth for India was about 29 per cent. For this fiscal, our growth rate will be the same, or it might go up slightly. I expect the number of people working in this industry to increase substantially. As of now, there are 70,000 people working in the IT sector in West Bengal, and by 2011, there will be around 2 lakh people. In fiscal 2010 we expect there will be a boom. A lot of our projects will become operational, including the India Design Centre and some of the IT parks that are now under construction.

What is the update on Infosys Technologies Ltd regarding their investment in West Bengal?

We are confident about Infosys coming to the State. The company said they would come to Kolkata to see the land that is being offered to them. They will definitely come, but it is up to them to decide when they want to come. They have not taken possession of the land as yet.

We have offered them land in a 1,200-acre IT park coming up near the airport.

Apart from the services companies, what are the other companies you are trying to bring to Bengal?

The government is also trying to encourage high-end IT in the State. We are constructing an advanced IT park in a 100-acre plot near IIT-Kharagpur.

Companies who want to develop campus for VLSI design will be given space in this park.

In Saltlake Sector V, we are building the 18-storey India Design Centre, which will provide a complete ecosystem for the semiconductor industry.

This project will be completed by the end of 2009. In the first floor, the post-graduate course conducted by IIT-Kharagpur will be held.

The second and third floor will be used as incubation centres. From the fourth floor onwards, companies will be given space.

We are in talks with various semiconductor and semiconductor driven companies regarding India Design Centre.

We are developing an animation and multimedia hub as well. We have decided where we want to allocate land for this project. DQ Entertainment, an animation, visual effects and gaming company, has already opened a development centre in Kolkata.

The third area where we are laying emphasis is the wireless technology area. We want innovative product-oriented work to be done in West Bengal.

We have spoken to a wireless product company in Denmark. The company will begin operation in Kolkata soon.

Which are the other cities that you want to develop as IT hubs?

The other places we are looking at are Kalyani, Kharagpur, Haldia, Siliguri and Durgapur. In Durgapur, BPO companies such as Aegis and HTMT already have presence, and in Siliguri a company called Acclaris has a centre.

In Kharagpur, some small companies have come up, centred around the IIT. We are trying to assist these companies. The response from companies about Durgapur is very good. We hope to get the same kind of response for Kalyani.

We are building IT complexes in Durgapur, Haldia and Siliguri, which will be rented to companies.

What is the government doing to promote IT?

The government has created a venture capital fund of Rs 4 crore for start-ups. It has also started incubation centres in Taratala (Kolkata) and Durgapur, where new companies can begin work.

We have a plug-and-play system in place in the incubation centres, and the companies can start work within 24 hours.

If the company’s business does well, it can use the incubation centre for a year. A third incubation centre will be started in Siliguri soon.

The government also provides special incentives such as capital subsidy, interest subsidy and training subsidy, which is very important for the small companies.

shamik@thehindu.co.in

More Stories on : Interview | Software | West Bengal

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