In an effort to decongest the already crowded Bangalore city, the state government on Wednesday appealed to the IT and BPO sector to look beyond Bangalore for expansion and new units. The government invited the IT firms to set up shop in secondary cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum.
"The tier-II and tier-III cities in the state have all the necessary infrastructure required by IT companies and adequate number of trained engineers," said Tanveer Sait, minister for labour.
Inaugurating a seminar on IT -- Beyond Bangalore -- organised as part of the four-day Bangalore IT.in, in Bangalore on Wednesday, he said, "Mangalore and Mysore have already emerged as an alternative to Bangalore. Leading firms like Infosys and MphasiS have set up shop there. Now there is a need to look towards other cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Manipal."
While the Software Technology Parks of India has set up centres in Mysore, Mangalore, Manipal and Hubli, the fifth centre is being set up in Gulbarga, he said. The government has provided the necessary infrastructure for software companies in these cities.
Stating that the IT sector has a big role to play in development of infrastructure, Sait said the government was in the process of setting up a special economic zone for IT in Mangalore.
Making a presentation promoting Hubli-Dharwad as the next-generation IT destination, B S Patil, former chief secretary of Karnataka said the twin cities were the ideal location for setting up BPO companies. Hubli is the second largest city after Bangalore.
According to a recent report of McKinsey, Hubli is the next destination for ITTeS on account of a large talent pool, good commercial and telecom infrastructure, strong business orientation, basic educational facilities and good lifestyle, he said.
The major advantages of being in Hubli, Patil said, are a sufficient workforce (it produces 5,000 graduates every year), air and railway connectivity, apart from 4-lane national highway, and low real estate costs. STPI has set up one of its finest infrastructure at Hubli with 24x7 broadband connectivity. The MphasiS BFL Group is in the process of setting up its next BPO centre at Hubli, he said.
Sid Mookerjee, CEO, Software Paradigms India, in his presentation said Mysore was an ideal location for an IT firm. It is less polluted and possesses all the infrastructure required by an IT company.
He said that his company will open a new campus early 2006, which will provide 20,000 sq ft space for an incubation centre. He also invited IT companies to make use of the opportunity available to set up operations in Mysore.
Kurien James, CEO, Manipal Informatics, Giridhar Prabhu, former president, Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association, made presentations projecting Manipal and Mangalore as the ideal places for the IT sector to expand their presence.