KOLKATA, INDIA: Infosys, the country's second largest software major has been looking for its debut in West Bengal since 2004. Now, it seems the company has got tired of the wait and is all set to halt its investments in Bengal. Close on the heels it seems even Wipro has been postponed its projects in the state.
Talking on the sidelines of the CII-ICT (East) Summit, S Gopalakrishnan, CEO and MD, Infosys, said, "We want to wait for the time being with our project in Bengal and do not require any more land for any new infrastructure at the moment. Also, we cannot chalk out a timeframe for the proposed facility in Rajarhat"
Infosys and Wipro had earlier expressed their willingness to invest about Rs 500 crore each in the project. For the unexpected halt in their plans for the project, Infosys clearly blamed the global meltdown stressing that the company is not looking for acquisitions. “I can't commit anything on the (Bengal) project, but we are one of the happy customer here in Bengal,” Suresh Senapaty, Executive Director, Wipro said. Earlier, at the same venue, IT Minister, West Bengal.
Debesh Das had declared that the state had almost arranged the promised land in Rajarhat and will hand over the same by December this year. Also, the IT Minister said that ITC Infotech and other IT firms are also willing to have their share in the proposed 600 acre hub in Rajarhat. “The entire process of land aggregation is complete. In the IT hub-cum-residential project in Rajarhat, we will be offering 600 acres of land and Infosys will be having 90 acres while Wipro will be having 100 acres allocation. The process of mutation and conversion is under way and hopefully by December, the entire process will be complete” Das said.
“Talking about the slowdown Senapaty said, “Slowdown has affected plans across the whole spectrum of the company. When we get back to recovery and hiring people, Bengal is a good location for us to add a headcount.”
Projecting a zero growth situation this FY, Infosys is now concentrating on acquisitions in new geographies', and is willing to spend $ 450-500 million on the takeover aiming to takeover companies accounting for 10 percent of Infosys's total revenue. The company is keen on expanding its horizons through acquisitions in Europe, Latin America, Japan and Australia. Wipro too is sounding similar plans in these regions but hinted to target firms with $ 30 million revenue.
Signalling the onset of the much-awaited recovery phase to set in, Gopalkrishnan added, "Recovery in volume is expected, not in pricing; it may be a jobless recovery. We have deferred any promotions in the company this year but salary has not at all been affected. We should be cautious under these circumstances."