BHUBANESWAR: While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest software service firm, decided to shut shop in Lucknow, it has decided to to go forward with the third-phase expansion of its centre in Odisha.
The IT giant, which operates from Kalinga Park SEZ campus in Infocity here, is ready with the civil infrastructure. Once rolled out, it would employ 3,000 more IT professionals in addition to the existing headcount.
Manoj Kumar Panda, the TCS Centre Head said expansion depends on the volume of business and more export-oriented projects. “While civil construction has been completed, only interior infrastructure needs to be developed which will take just about six months,” he said.
The authorities have planned to add 1,000 employees initially and later go for more. Presently, it has an operational capacity for around 4,500 employees with about 3,200 employed.
The Kalinga Park SEZ campus of TCS is spread over 45 acres of land. It was developed as part of the IT firms Global Network Delivery Model. Started in 1999 with only 250 employees, it is now considered as one of the major exporters from the State in the IT sector.
The IT consulting firm is now serving more than 150 clients in manufacturing, insurance, banking, construction, automobile and development sectors. Its major clients included Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), US-based General Electric, Nielsen, American Express, JPMorgan and Virgin Australia.
Apart from meeting the project requirements of global companies, the component engineering group of the IT major also develop a lot of products for State Governments and conducts both functional and non-functional testing of products.
Panda, however, admitted that present US policy is affecting IT business in the country. “Sometimes we are not getting professionals with adequate skill. Experienced professionals are expressing reluctance to come to Bhubaneswar. Still, we are best at retaining manpower and maintaining growth,” he added.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had inaugurated Phase II of TCS in Kalinga Park in 2015. Of Rs 3,400 crore exports in the IT sector last year, TCS contributed a major share.