KOLKATA: The central government is extending an assistance of Rs 40 crore for
seven information technology projects proposed by West Bengal.
"We believe the state has immense potential in the IT segment and we are
eager to cooperate with the government to bring IT to the masses. We have
promised the government help in various IT initiatives," said Pramod
Mahajan, Union Minister for IT & Communications.
"With an annual budget of Rs 500 crore for my department, we are unable
to provide resources for every IT project in the state. The rest of the amount
will have to be arranged by the state government through its own
resources," he said.
The central ministry will help the government set up two software technology
parks at Siliguri and Kharagpur for which there would be continuous
participation. The Centre would also provide free software for various
e-governance projects. According to Mahajan, West Bengal had asked assistance in
nine projects but of which seven were related to his ministry and the rest two
were the prerogative of the education ministry.