States wooing IT investments

NEW DELHI: A dominating trend witnessed during this year’s Indiasoft organized by Electronics and Computers Software Exports Promotion Council (ESC) was the aggressive staunch by some state governments in wooing the IT industry to their states. Gone are the days when private companies had to line up in front of the babus to get innumerable clearances.

"Tell us what time you (the investor) want to come and we shall send a car to receive you. I have absolutely no problem in meeting you anytime," declares Nirmaljeet Singh Khalsi, IT Secretary in the Govt of Punjab. There is radical change in thinking as Singh explains, "My job is to satisfy the needs of the investor so even if I have to postpone my existing meetings for him, I shall do so."

The Punjab Government has signed an MoU with ESC to help attract IT companies. Under the MoU, ESC would help companies relocate their manufacturing base to Punjab from countries like Singapore and other Asian countries as well as promoting the state as an ITES and BPO destination. The state government in turn would provide office space to ESC and give all the necessary support required for the task at hand.

State IT secretaries vied with each other to ensure that the presentations made the right impact. Vivek Harinarain, IT Secretary of Tamil Nadu, flourished through his presentation peppered with witty one liners impressing the audience why Tamil Nadu scores over other states. "From excellent infrastructure to an overall standard of living, Chennai has it all and more. We are the only state with surplus 24 hour power supply, a coastal city and therefore a landing point for any undersea cables and a vibrant night-life," declares Harinarain.

The bottomline is that with increasing competition amongsts states to woo IT, software and ITES companies into their states, there has been radical changes in the stiff upper lips of bureaucrats as they climb down ivory towers and appear more humane.

Not to be undone, West Bengal, a basiton of Communism for decades now had the state’s Industry Minister, Manabhendra Mukherji, recounting the list of IT companies already with a base in the state and others in the pipeline in a bid to convince companies about the conducive investment climate in the state.

West Bengal was among the first states in the country to unveil an ITES policy in a clear bid to woo the rising sector. All states were particularly keen to attract the ITES sector considering the volumes of employment that it can create for the population.