Poongothai invites IT firms to Tier-II cities
CHENNAI: Making a serious pitch to sell Tier-II cities, State Information Technology Minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna on Saturday invited IT companies to establish their facilities at Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Madurai, Hosur and Salem, saying they had all facilities the companies required.
“We have invested nearly Rs.540 crore for infrastructure development and buildings in Tier-II cities… The unique advantage of Tier-II cities in Tamil Nadu is not just their lower overheads but availability of excellent infrastructure — power and air, road and rail connectivity.”
Addressing the inaugural of the ninth edition of Connect, the annual IT showcase event of the State government, she noted that while IT applications had improved the lives of many millions, several others in rural areas had been left out. “For inclusive growth to become a reality, I request the Union Minister to encourage big players such as Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Airtel and Reliance to make a commitment to set up local language call centres, local language services and devices.”
e-waste policy
She said that the State government would soon release an e-waste policy and upgrade its rural BPOs. “We are encouraging all State departments, from Agriculture to Industry, to switch to the e-administration mode. We were the first State to complete laying down optic fibre cables – TNSWAN – and would soon be able to provide the 2 Mbps backbone connectivity.”
Stressing on inclusive growth and the need for inter-sectoral cooperation, Kanimozhi, MP, said that IT could prosper only if all the other key sectors – agriculture, manufacturing and health – prospered. As an industry, IT was very young and would be able to overcome the present hardships by adapting to the changed realities.
Since IT was one of the fields that did not discriminate against persons with disabilities, she wanted more of them to be given an opportunity to showcase their talents.
In his keynote address, Dell vice-president (global facilities and strategic growth) Kip G. Thompson said that India had again been presented with an opportunity to provide IT leadership to the world.
Fiscal incentives
It needed to invest more aggressively in infrastructure, improve on regulatory efficiency, spur domestic demand and introduce more fiscal incentives.
“We have invested nearly Rs.540 crore for infrastructure development and buildings in Tier-II cities… The unique advantage of Tier-II cities in Tamil Nadu is not just their lower overheads but availability of excellent infrastructure — power and air, road and rail connectivity.”
Addressing the inaugural of the ninth edition of Connect, the annual IT showcase event of the State government, she noted that while IT applications had improved the lives of many millions, several others in rural areas had been left out. “For inclusive growth to become a reality, I request the Union Minister to encourage big players such as Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Airtel and Reliance to make a commitment to set up local language call centres, local language services and devices.”
e-waste policy
She said that the State government would soon release an e-waste policy and upgrade its rural BPOs. “We are encouraging all State departments, from Agriculture to Industry, to switch to the e-administration mode. We were the first State to complete laying down optic fibre cables – TNSWAN – and would soon be able to provide the 2 Mbps backbone connectivity.”
Stressing on inclusive growth and the need for inter-sectoral cooperation, Kanimozhi, MP, said that IT could prosper only if all the other key sectors – agriculture, manufacturing and health – prospered. As an industry, IT was very young and would be able to overcome the present hardships by adapting to the changed realities.
Since IT was one of the fields that did not discriminate against persons with disabilities, she wanted more of them to be given an opportunity to showcase their talents.
In his keynote address, Dell vice-president (global facilities and strategic growth) Kip G. Thompson said that India had again been presented with an opportunity to provide IT leadership to the world.
Fiscal incentives
It needed to invest more aggressively in infrastructure, improve on regulatory efficiency, spur domestic demand and introduce more fiscal incentives.
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