Jayalalithaa launches KIT project

CHENNAI: The Knowledge Industry Township (KIT) will host campuses to power the new ascendancy of Chennai in the IT sector, J Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu said while launching the KIT Project at Connect 2005 here.

The chief minister handed over the land documents of the KIT project. The KIT initiative was conceived by the CII to promote investments in the knowledge based industries in Chennai and in other parts of the State.

In her inaugural address, Jayalalithaa also announced that the State government is moving ahead to establish a Second IT Park at Siruseri. Also, the work will commence soon to create the IT Park at Coimbatore.

Releasing the ITeS Policy 2005, the chief minister said that the government is exploring possibilities of introducing a low cost personal computer that would lead to the penetration of computers into the rural and urban areas of the State.

Tamil Nadu has already initiated the development of a specialised ITeS curriculum. This course has been adopted in several of the State's universities and is widely welcomed by the student community as well as the industry.

Jayalalithaa informed that over 5.2 million sq ft of space for the IT industry is under construction at Chennai. There are more than 40 IT parks that are coming up in the public as well as private sector. Around 11.8 million sq ft of space is also on the drawing board.