The West Bengal government has urged global software major Microsoft to set up a research unit in the state, Commerce and IT Minister Partha Chatterjee said on Friday.

"We have urged Microsoft to set up a research base in West Bengal, like Bengaluru," Chatterjee told reporters in Kolkata.

"They are open to set up a research wing here," he added.

He said the government

was seriously thinking of setting up a research and analytical wing under the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

The state had received six proposals from IT companies for setting up units here involving an investment of Rs 1,410 crore (Rs 14.1 billion, Chatterjee said, adding that these proposals would entail direct employment to 19,000 people and indirect employment to 125,000.

The minister said the state government has set a target to capture one-third of the total IT revenue of the country.