Chandigarh : A year after jumping on to the IT bandwagon, the Chandigarh administration has reason to smile. It may not have found an IT El Dorado but appears to be heading in the right direction. Despite a late start, the Union Territory has managed to lure in investors for developing infrastructure for the IT industry. The `wired city' project undertaken by a consortium of five companies is due for completion in June this year. A single window clearance cell that promises to grant clearance in about a week's time was set up a few days back by the IT department to facilitate their work. In response to the government's offer, 19 financial consultancies have submitted drafts for the `IT Towers project' and Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) is processing the applications. Companies like Wipro, Reliance and Satyam have shown interest in various projects in the region. Speaking to The Financial Express, Vivek Atrey, Director, Information Technology, Chandigarh Administration,revealed how the department planned to make the Union Territory an attractive option for the IT industry. Excerpts:
What is the scope of the IT industry in Chandigarh?
Chandigarh has some inherent advantages in terms of standard of living and availability of man power. Software exports from the city have doubled from Rs 30 to Rs 60 crore in the present financial year. With the laying down of optic fibre cable over a radius of 50 km, we hope to provide a backbone that can facilitate further growth of IT industry in the region. To enhance data connectivity, private companies are setting up gateways. Glide, a Sab India concern, has already got a licence. HFCL has applied for one and has committed to have its gateway ready in two months.What is the kind of investment expected to flow in?
The response from the investors has been encouraging. The UT Administrator, Lieut Gen JFR Jacob, met Wipro chief Azim Premji during his visit to Bangalore. As an outcome, Wipro has sought land for building up a campus in the region and we are locating a site that can meet their needs. Satyam Infoway wants to open cyber cafes in government tourist centres and the deal is under way. Reliance has shown interest in wiring the city. It might be involved in installation of Information Kiosks that will be linked to the network throughout the city. These kiosks, besides providing administrative information, would also serve as manned centres for downloading various forms.
What about the IT Towers project?
The project is likely to be based on the Hyderabad model wherein the government will provide the land in return for equity.The proposed site in Kishangarh will be built to cater for both software firms and IT enabled services.
IT companies complain about the delays in implementation of policy at the working level. How do you plan to tackle this problem?
This is not a problem specific to the IT industry. However, we are trying to bring about changes in two ways. By giving single window clearances, we aim to remove red-tapeism in implementation .Also, we are cutting down on manual processing by computerising the administrative procedures. For example, a tie-up with Satyam's formsindia.com has enabled the Excise and Taxation Department to put its forms online.
Talking about e-governance, how techno-savvy is the current administrative staff?
Not very; but steps are being made in that direction. An MoU has been signed with Microsoft and a centre has been identified to train the staff in using application software. Selected employees from each department shall be nominated for courses in in-house system management. We are also training manpower in software development so that the transformation to e-governance is self-sustainable. Presently, the National Informatics Centre is developing our site and training our senior staff.
Does Mohali spell competition to Chandigarh?
We are not competing. The region as a whole is trying to emerge as an IT destination.There have to be collaborative efforts to create an environment which attracts big IT players.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
