Infosys, Wipro look east, commit Rs.1000 crore for IT development in West Bengal

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"Infosys will set up a development center near Rajarhat Township with an investment of Rs.500 crore in the first phase of the project. The unit will come up on 90 acres of land. It will create employment for about 5,000 people," S. Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys, said.

The development center, which will cater to Infosys clients worldwide, would serve as a multi-technology and multi-service center, Gopalakrishnan said.

It would also serve as a training unit, he added.

"We have signed an MoU with the state IT Department early this month. We are very excited to announce our intention to set up a presence in Kolkata. We are impressed with the efforts of the state government in attracting such investments. With its bright talent pool, West Bengal is poised to become an important IT destination," Gopalakrishnan said.

Like Infosys, Wipro will also get 90 acres of land in Rajarhat and will invest Rs.500 crore ($125 million) to expand its existing facility.

"The city has become the new hotspot for IT in the East and we expect to see more of such investments coming into the state and more jobs being generated," said West bengal State IT Minister Debesh Das.

Both the Infosys and Wipro centers will be part of a 1200 acre IT Park, which is being developed by Webel and Akash Nirman Ltd, a Bengal-based construction company and product of a joint venture between Webel, the government-run nodal agency for IT, and Vedic Realty Group. The IT Park will be given the status of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

Out of this 1200 acres, 600 acres is being provided to the Bengal government, free of cost by the Vedic Realty Group for developing IT infrastructure while the remaining 600 acres would be used for IT township.

According to media reports, initially the plans of the IT majors ran aground when the West Bengal government offered very high rates for the land but after the intervention of Vedic Realty Group, they are now getting the land at a much cheaper rate.

West Bengal, the bastion of the Leftist party, is competing with Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai for becoming the most favored IT destination in the country.