Davangere, Gulbarga to be developed as IT centres

Davangere, Gulbarga to be developed as IT centres
The Hindu.com
Staff Correspondent

There is also demand from Tumkur and Shimoga for software parks: Anup Pujar
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# The two cities expected to generate manpower because of good engineering colleges
# Mysore, Mangalore are attracting investments
# Office space available in Hubli; infrastructure being maintained by KEONICS
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MYSORE: Principal Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology, Anup K. Pujar on Friday said the Government was looking at development of a few cities, including Gulbarga and Davangere, besides Hubli-Dharwad for attracting investments in information technology.

Dr. Pujar told presspersons here that while the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) would be set up in Gulbarga to give a boost to information technology, the Government was looking at Davangere as an alternative destination for promotion of information technology. Both these cities, he said, could generate manpower as they had good engineering colleges.

He said the demand to set up software parks was also coming from political representatives in Tumkur and Shimoga. "These steps are being taken to promote cities other than Mysore and Mangalore as they have started attracting investments," he said. Dr. Pujar said that after "Destination Hubli'', the Government had received several proposals from information technology industries keen on investing in the State.

He pointed out that 2.72 lakh sq ft of office space was available in Hubli and that the infrastructure was at present managed by KEONICS. Dr. Pujar, however, said caution had to be exercised before spreading investments across the State as synergy could not be attained if the investments were sparsely spread among different regions.

He said many companies had preferred Mysore and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was one among them.

The Government had received a specific proposal from TCS to start its operation in Mysore. It had also evinced interest in Mangalore, Bangalore and Hubli-Dharwad, he added. This proposal had been made after "Destination Hubli'' was organised on May 20 by the Government, he added.

He said Mysore had infrastructure. "Connectivity was the only problem earlier, but after Mysore has been connected to Bangalore, travelling has become easier. The existing road has brought satisfaction to the commuters."

Biotech park

Dr. Pujar said the Government had cleared the biotechnology park at the Electronics City near Bangalore following clearance from the Cabinet on Sunday. To come up on 106 acres, the park would be completed in three phases. During the first phase, building for the Institute of Bio-informatics and Biotechnology would be constructed at a cost of Rs. 111 crore for which tender process had been completed.