Coimbatore next big destination

Coimbatore on Friday was formally launched as the next big destination, after Chennai, in the State for information technology industry.

"I am happy that today we are launching Coimbatore as a tier-II city [for IT industry], by allotting land to Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro Limited," Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi declared here.

He was inaugurating Connect 2006, the Confederation of Indian Industry's premier event on information and communication technology. The announcement comes in the backdrop of the Government's emphasis on broadbasing the growth and benefits of IT.

The State Government decided to consolidate the infrastructure at Chennai and spread the IT revolution to other towns of the State. Recently, it announced the decision to establish a second TIDEL Park in Chennai and IT parks in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi, Salem and Tirunelveli.

Detailing the growth of the industry in Tamil Nadu — third largest software exporter in India — and the initiatives proposed by the State Government, including a new comprehensive IT policy, the Chief Minister said: "We are not content with resting on our laurels."

It is time "to rededicate ourselves with renewed vigour ... we would strive to provide the best possible environment, in which you could grow and prosper," he said. The suggestions, arising out of the two-day Connect conference, for shaping the Information Communication Technology (ICT) policy would be given "utmost consideration."

He called upon stakeholders in the IT industry to join the State Government in its battle against hunger, deprivation, want, inequality and unemployment. "I am convinced that the ICT can provide opportunities for touching the untouched and approaching the unapproached," he said.

Mr. Karunanidhi received the strategic report on 16-bit encoding for Tamil computing. The Chief Minister also `e-launched' the HP's development centre here and unveiled a model of the TIDEL Park at Coimbatore.

He presented a memento and Rs.1 lakh, as part of the CII's recognition of young talent to musician Kashyap Mahesh and the youngest student in the IIT, S. Chandra Sekar from Tirunelveli and another young IIT student, Abishek Kumarasubramanian, who is scheduled to work with Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Union Minister for Communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran said the factors behind the Tamil Nadu's success in IT and IT-Enabled Services must be further leveraged for increasing the State's share of IT and ITES and electronic hardware market revenues to 20 per cent of the total value of exports by 2011.

Achieving this vision would mean the State having an output of $25 billion in the three industries. "It will be employing nearly seven lakh people in these industries and attract an investment close to $5.5 billion to achieve this output."

TCS Managing Director and CEO S. Ramadorai said the company's Coimbatore project would be operational in a year or 18 months.

Connect 2006 chairman Gopal Srinivasan said the best minds in the IT business would deliberate on the theme of the conference `Creating a Knowledge-driven Ecosystem.'

Co-chairman Lakshmi Narayanan said Tamil Nadu "clearly is the State with global appeal" and needed to promote tier-II cities. CII southern region chairman M. Lakshminarayan thanked the State Government and the Centre for their support to the event.

Courtesy : The Hindu