Punjab to explore IT potential in tier II, III cities

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Chandigarh, Aug 8: Punjab would soon explore the IT potential of tier II and III cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Bathinda as a long term strategy after witnessing IT sector’s impressive growth as a cluster in Mohali in recent years.

The government of Punjab on Thursday reached this consensus after a high level meeting with top decision makers from the IT industry, who are in Chandigarh to participate in e-Revolution 2008.

The formation of a core IT vision group for Punjab was also discussed at the forum. Nasscom chairman, Ganesh Natarajan came out in strong support of such an initiative and said Nasscom will provide all necessary facilitation for the setting up of such a group, which would meet at regular intervals and drive the agenda for growth in the region.

The 11 members delegation from industry then participated in an open house discussion and also supported the view that the government of Punjab should explore the IT potential of tier II and III cities like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Bathinda as a long term strategy.

The industry participants strongly approved the state’s pro-active initiatives to develop world class infrastructure and human resources in the state—the new IIT at Ropar, Knowledge City and convention Centre in Mohali are key among them.

Recent policy initiatives which include the Super Mega Industrial Park Policy, Industrial Facilitation Act, deemed approval for projects and online submission of forms, were all believed to send out positive signals to the investor community.

The purpose of the interaction was to initiate an informal discussion with leaders from the IT industry and obtain their perspective on the roadmap Punjab needs to chart out for the growth of the IT sector in the state.