Silicon Valley Project 2nd phase to come up on 100 acre: Mamata

Kolkata: The second phase of the Silicon Valley Project will be set up on 100 acres in New Town, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

She made the announcement while addressing the virtual INFOCOM 2020 — a business-technology event organised by a private group.

"The construction work on 100 acres is underway for the first phase of the Silicon Valley Project. The second phase will come up on another 100 acres," she announced at the virtual meet.

Banerjee said the future of Bengal in the IT sector is very bright as more and more companies are showing interest because of the rich talent pool and congenial business environment in the state.

She added that IT giant Wipro plans to expand in the state with an investment worth Rs 500 crore. The expansion will give job opportunities to 20,000 IT professionals.

Tata Consultancy Services has a pool of 44,000 IT professionals at present. The resource pool will increase to 61,000. "There are proposals for Rs 3000 crore investment in the IT sector," she added.

Senior officials of Infosys had informed the Chief Minister that the construction of the proposed IT development centre would begin in July, 2021. The project is likely to be completed in three years.

At present, 1,500 big and small firms are operating in Bengal. "Bengal is number 1 in e-governance and e-tender in unorganised sector as well as the skilled sector," she added.

As many as 18 IT parks have come up in Bengal with 80 per cent occupancy rate. "There is an IT hardware park and IT manufacturing cluster. The birth and death registrations are being done through blockchain technology now. A financial hub has come up in New Town, where 26 leading banks and financial institutions have their offices," the Chief Minister said.

Banerjee pointed out that the state's GDP growth has gone up by 2.5 times since 2011. Similarly, the state's planned and capital expenditure have gone up by 6.8 and 11 times respectively since 2011. In the social sector, growth in agriculture and allied sectors has gone up by 5.7 and 8.5 times respectively since 2011.

Banerjee said 8,000 IT professionals, who lost their jobs in other states due to COVID-19, have been absorbed in different IT firms through Karmabhumi initiative.

Many others will also get jobs soon, she added. "The animation academy is working fine and graduates who have passed out from here have been absorbed in different firms," she maintained.