IT majors line up for investment region

BANGALORE: The proposed Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) at Devanahalli, near the Bengaluru International Airport, has received an encouraging response with over 55 companies in

BANGALORE: The proposed Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) at Devanahalli, near the Bengaluru International Airport, has received an encouraging response with over 55 companies including IT majors like Infosys, Wipro, and TCS lining up to set shop.

“IT majors including Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Cognizant, Tally and a lot of other companies have registered a request to set up operations in the proposed ITIR,” Ashok Kumar C Manoli, principal secretary, department of ITBT, Karnataka told The New Indian Express.

“We are aggressively pursuing the mega project and are eagerly waiting for the central government to approve the proposed scheme. The final set of verifications are going on,” he added.

With the Global Investors Meet round the corner, the state government is going full throttle on the proposed ITIR.

According to a feasibility study, Karnataka will attract a mammoth Rs 1,00,000 crore in investment in the next 25 years and generate jobs for over 40 lakh people in the ITIR.

Consultants appointed by the government estimate that over 12 lakh direct jobs and 28 lakh indirect jobs will be created if the project is implemented.

Other state governments, too, are keen to set up ITIRs.

In 2009-10 (up to March), the government of Karnataka has cleared proposals from 77 IT companies and 6 BT companies which wanted to start or expand operations in Karnataka.

Taken together, the investment for all the projects would amount to Rs 5,209 crore.

Karnataka’s rising share in IT exports

According to government data, the contribution of the state to IT exports has steadily risen. In 2008-09, IT exports from Karnataka stood at $15.5 billion.

There has also been a 250 per cent increase in the exports from the IT special economic zones in the state.

Latest figures available with the government show that the IT exports from SEZs have grown from Rs 1,300 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 4,554 crore in 2008-09.

A clearer picture is likely to emerge in about three months from now, when the export figures for 2009-10 are available.

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