‘Internet cable landing station at Digha to be functional by 2026 1st quarter: Amit Mitra

Kolkata: Amit Mitra, principal chief advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and state Finance Department, said the Internet cable landing station (ICLS) at Digha in East Midnapore will be functional by the first quarter of 2026.

Mitra made the announcement on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Economic Conclave 2024 organised by Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The ICLS is the first of its kind in eastern India and assumes great significance in the backdrop of a boom in IT majors developing their data centres in the state.

“Since 2020, the Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) department launched IT policies that include the Broadband Policy 2020, Data Centre Policy 2021, West Bengal Internet Cable Landing Station Policy 2023 to build a world-class cable landing ecosystem in Bengal by attracting foreign and domestic investments and mentor MSMEs and start-ups leverage the new ecosystem. The Silicon Valley Hub in New Town is well poised to have 11 data centres, among which, seven are already operational,” said Mitra. The eastern region faces connectivity challenges and Bengal’s strategic location makes it ideal for an ICLS as it can reduce connectivity costs, attracting investments in IT, ITeS and BPO industries.

“41 companies took land at Silicon Valley Hub in New Town and the entire 200 acres of land there is full. TCS will be employing 16000 IT professionals in its upcoming office on 20 acres of land at the Silicon Valley Hub. This will be in addition to its existing office in the city that employs 50000,” Mitra added. Elaborating on the potential for huge employment in the IT sector which has been one of the prime focus of the state government, Mitra said Calsoft, digital and product engineering services company that has come to Silicon Valley is attracting many ancillary hubs. The same holds true for Persistent Systems.