No deal? No problem: States sell initiatives at Bangalore IT.Com

Kavitha Alexis in Bangalore

Despite the hype and fanfare Bangalore IT.Com, billed as the biggest information technology trade show in Asia, was not viewed as place to clinch major business deals by the participants. Most of the Indian states participating in the event limited themselves to the objective of exhibiting the IT initiatives launched by each of them to a larger audience.

Speaking to The Financial Express, additional director department of IT Chandigarh Dr SC Dhawan said, the main aim is not to attract investments immediately. “Here we would be in a position to reach out to a larger audience,” he added. He said Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh had plans to set up a central IT hub to attract investments to the region.

Kerala aims to leverage its image as a leisure destination to attract IT investments by harping on the happy and relaxed ambience at work, best of infrastructure and 100 per cent digital connectivity, said Techno Park director Rajiv Vasudevan. However, he too was not sure of any investments taking place in the immediate future.

A senior official from Gujarat Informatics said the state was expecting at least 10 to 15 enquiries for investments in the state. “We are focusing on established companies to set up centres in Gujarat,” he added. West Bengal had come up with attractive proposals for the IT companies to set up shop in the state, said West Bengal electronics industry development corporation Ltd manager Ms Ruma Sengupta.

Madhya Pradesh presenting themselves as the first state to launch a Hindi portal in the country, also boasts of having an optical fibre network throughout the state.

According to Optel HR manager Pradeep Sarkar, the state has a full-fledged software technology park and has two more in the pipeline at Gwalior and Indore.