ITC Infotech, a fully owned IT subsidiary of ITC, has reportedly expressed interest in shifting its engineering design and technical division to West Bengal.

At a meeting with the West Bengal IT, Commerce and Industries Minister, Mr Partha Chatterjee, in Bangalore on Saturday, company officials expressed their interest to shift the divisions subject to availability of land.

“They (ITC Infotech) expressed their willingness to shift the engineering design and technical division subject to availability of land,” Mr. Chatterjee told Business Line .

ITC Infotech, headquartered in Bangalore, has fully-owned subsidiaries in the UK and the US and an office in Kolkata. The company offers IT services and solutions across industry verticals such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, manufacturing, travel, hospitality, transportation and logistics, and media and entertainment.

Earlier plan

This incidentally is the company's second attempt to set up shop in the State.

The company had approached the erstwhile Left Front Government in 2005 to provide around 15 acres for setting up its facilities. The State Government had even earmarked 5 acres in Rajarhat – on the eastern fringes of the city. However, days after the allotment was made, the State Government backtracked and cancelled its decision to handover the plot.

“I have sought the papers and other necessary documents to see what went wrong in 2005. I am also in touch with Housing and Infrastructure Development Company (HIDCO) regarding the matter,” the West Bengal IT Minister, said.

Infosys second campus

Other than meeting with ITC Infotech officials, land allotment to IT major Infosys for its second campus at Rajarhat also featured in the meeting between the Minister and Infosys co-founder, Mr Narayana Murthy, on Saturday.

Infosys has reportedly said that it will start construction work “within a month” of infrastructure issues such as an approach road to its plot being set up and land handed to it by the State Government. The second campus of the company will come up on a 50-acre plot for which Infosys will pay nearly Rs 75 crore. It will employ nearly 2,000 people in its second campus.

Tier II cities

During the meeting with Wipro officials, Mr. Chatterjee sought possibilities of investment in Tier II cities such as Kalyani, Haldia and Silliguri.

While Wipro officials have reportedly said that they are “keen to exhaust their options in Kolkata first,” a team comprising Wipro officials would be sent to look at prospects of investing in these Tier II cities. “I have asked company officials to send a team, at a suitable time, to look at prospects of investing n Tier II cities,” Mr. Chatterjee said.

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