IT should be taken to other cities in State, says Tanvir Sait

IT should be taken to other cities in State, says Tanvir Sait
DH News Service Bangalore:

Minister of State for Labour Tanvir Sait on Wednesday said serious discussion was on to develop cities other than Bangalore to become IT hubs.

In his inaugural address at "Beyond Bangalore" conference organised as part of Bangalore IT.in , Mr Sait said that “This is the only way to generate employment and improve per capita income in smaller towns”.

Mysore and Mangalore were already growing as important destinations for IT industries and other cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Davangere and Hassan had the potential to become IT hubs in the future, he said.


The government was taking all steps possible to ensure that all these destinations were well connected and had good infrastructure, he added.

Former chief secretary B S Patil said he was actively involved in promoting tier III cities in north Karnataka.

He felt that Hubli-Dharwad had everything that an industry would require to flourish. He also said that students from such areas probably lacked the polish that their counterparts in suburban areas had. But he was president of an organisation called BIC (BPO.Ites.Com) that was addressing this issue by setting up a "Finishing School" where students were trained appropriately, he added.

Head of Software Paradigms, India, Sid Mookherjee said his experience in setting up and running his firm from Mysore had been very smooth. He pointed out that in many ways Mysore was better than Bangalore (less commuting time, less pollution, cheaper real estate, etc.)

Mr Ramakrishnan M D, Efftronics, Vijayawada, said that his own experience of operating shop from a smaller city had also been very positive.

Mr Kurien James, CEO, Manipal Informatics, said that in his experience neutralising accents (for those who were to work in call centres) was easiest in Karnataka.

Aditya Puraskar for Gangubai Hanagal

Aditya Puraskar for Gangubai Hanagal
Friday October 28 2005 13:38 IST

HUBLI: Sangit Kala Kendra, Mumbai, will confer Dr Gangubai Hanagal, noted Hindustani classical vocalist with its prestigious award ‘Aditya Vikram Birla Kalashikar Puraskar’, for 2005 in recognition of her service in the field of music.

In a letter adressed to Gangubai, Lalit Daga, honorary secretary of Sangit Kala Kendra, Mumbai said the award would be conferred on Gangubai at a feliciation function to be held at Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point, Mumbai on November 12.

He said the award would be given to Gangubai for her lifetime achievement in the field of Hindustani classical vocal.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh and a memento.

He said Lata Mangeshkar is the first recipient of the Puraskar in 1996. Dr Gangubai Hangal will be the 10th to be conferred with this award.

M F Hussain, Kelucharan Mahapatra, Pandit Bhimasen Joshi were conferred with this award earlier.

Karnataka projects tier-II cities for IT growth

Karnataka projects tier-II cities for IT growth

Our Bureau / Bangalore October 27, 2005

In an effort to decongest the already crowded Bangalore city, the state government on Wednesday appealed to the IT and BPO sector to look beyond Bangalore for expansion and new units. The government invited the IT firms to set up shop in secondary cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum.

“The tier-II and tier-III cities in the state have all the necessary infrastructure required by IT companies and adequate number of trained engineers,” said Tanveer Sait, minister for labour.

Inaugurating a seminar on IT — Beyond Bangalore, organised as part of the four-day Bangalore IT.in, here on Wednesday, he said Mangalore and Mysore have already emerged as an alternative to Bangalore. Leading firms like Infosys and MphasiS have set up shop there. Now there is a need to look towards other cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Manipal.

While the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has set up centres in Mysore, Mangalore, Manipal and Hubli, the fifth centre is being set up in Gulbarga, he said. The government has provided the necessary infrastructure for software companies in these cities.

Stating that the IT sector has a big role to play in development of infrastructure, Sait said the government was in the process of setting up a special economic zone for IT in Mangalore.

Making a presentation promoting Hubli-Dharwad as the next-generation IT destination, B S Patil, former chief secretary of Karnataka said the twin cities were the ideal location for setting up BPO companies. Hubli is the second largest city after Bangalore. According to a recent report of McKinsey, Hubli is the next destination for ITTeS on account of a large talent pool, good commercial and telecom infrastructure, strong business orientation, basic educational facilities and good lifestyle, he said.

The major advantages of being in Hubli, Patil said, are a sufficient workforce (it produces 5,000 graduates every year), air and railway connectivity, apart from 4-lane National Highway, and low real estate costs. STPI has set up one of its finest infrastructure at Hubli with 24x7 broadband connectivity. The MphasiS BFL Group is in the process of setting up its next BPO centre at Hubli, he said.

Sid Mookerjee, CEO, Software Paradigms India, in his presentation said Mysore was an ideal location for an IT firm. It is less polluted and possess all the infrastructure required by an IT company.

He said that his company will open a new campus early next year, which will provide 20,000 sq ft space for an incubation centre. He also invited IT companies to make use of the opportunity available to set up operations in Mysore.

Kurien James, CEO, Manipal Informatics, Giridhar Prabhu, former president, Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association, made presentations projecting Manipal and Mangalore as the ideal places for the IT sector to expand their presence.