PM opens Asia''s largest IT park in Chennai

CHENNAI: At a glittering ceremony, Prime Minister AB Vajpayee inaugurated the

12-storey, Rs 338-crore Tidel Park, Asia''s largest software development facility

in the heart of Chennai.

"This park will unleash the tidal wave that will take India quickly into

cyber space," Vajpayee said soon after a spectacular laser show on Tamil

Nadu''s IT achievements beamed on to the building, which is now the tallest

structure in Chennai. Besides Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, a galaxy

of five Union cabinet ministers–Pramod Mahajan (IT), Ram Vilas Paswan

(telecom), Murasoli Maran (industry & commerce), T R Balu (environment) and

Rangarajan Kumaramangalam (power) accompanied the PM.

A CD-ROM on the Tidel Park''s facilities, and the latest DQ Week Madras

special issue on Tidel Park were distributed to over 2,000 invitees at the

venue, representing the cream of Tamil Nadu''s industry.

"Similar software parks are coming up in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Pune,

Trivandrum and Mohali. These are the shining temples of the new economy,"

the PM remarked. The human race is set to accomplish major achievements in the

21st century and India''s place has to be right at the front, not in the middle,

not in the end. We have to do this. This is my government''s resolve,"

Vajpayee added.

To accomplish this, simultaneous action is needed on various fronts, he

conceded. The areas identified are: IT enabled education, telecom

infrastructure, widespread use of IT in governance and local language computing

to overcome the ''digital divide'' between the IT haves and havenots.

Vajpayee reiterated the NDA government''s commitment to corporatise the

national telecom administration by October 1, 2000. "In 5-10 years, I want

to see that Internet cafes are as ubiquitous as STD booths," the Prime

Minister said.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi observed that Tidel is going

to dominate Chennai''s skyline. He hoped that Tamil Nadu too would soon dominate

India''s IT scape in the same manner. Karunanidhi highlighted the fact that TN''s

software exports have jumped to Rs 1914 crore in 1999-2000 from just Rs 37 crore

in 1994-95. There are over 600 software units in the state now against 34 five

years ago.

Tamil Nadu was the first state to announce an IT policy and also the first to

have an IT department reporting directly to the CM, he said. Now in another

first, the TN government is financially supporting the Center-run STPI to set up

satellite earth stations in the state.

Over 80 per cent of space in the Software Park has been taken up by companies

such as Satyam and Pentasoft. Tidel Park has India''s first and the world''s third

largest thermal energy system which will maintain the temperature at 23 degree

centigrade. Besides a 2,000-line in-house telephone exchange, Tidel Park has its

own VSNL earth station and STPI connectivity for instant global access.