Bihar on the roads to become an IT hub soon

Patna Bihar is all set to become the most sought-after destination of information technology and IteS (IT enabled Services) companies. NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) delegates are in talks with the state government to setup IT infrastructure in the state.

Dr Ganesh Natarajan, the member of the chairmen’s council of Nasscom, yesterday met deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and the information technology secretary, Arun Kumar Singh.

“The software industry in India has an export market of US$60 billion at present. But the cost of human skill development and infrastructure development for software industry in metropolitan cities has increased considerably in the past few years. Moreover, majority of the software industry in the country is confined to five states — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and the National Capital Region. So, we are looking for second- and third-tier cities for the development of a concept we have termed as ‘IT-eco system’. It is basically a skill and infrastructure development plan for software development and financing,” Natarajan said.

Natarajan said the response from Modi and other officers were excellent.

“We got a good response from the deputy chief minister. He seemed to be aware of the current trends and requirements of the IT industry. Moreover, we were just asked about our action plans and how do we intend to make the requisite development in the state,” Natarajan said, adding that the availability of skilled manpower could augment the arrival of IT, ITeS and engineering companies to the state.

Suvopriya Mukherjee, general manager, alliances and special projects, Global Talent Track (GTT) Private Limited, who accompanied Natarajan, said: “The first step for the development of software industry at any place is the development of a pool of skilled and trained manpower.”

Mukherjee said: “With the co-operation of the state government, GTT would create an educational framework. Aspiring students would be trained on vocational skills that would help them get ready for the industry. Similar initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam had been highly successful. After assessing around 2,000 students at University of Kashmir, we had selected 399. They will be absorbed by the leading companies by the time they complete training.”