A professor in the computer science and engineering department of the Jadavpur University is the new representative of West Bengal in the IT sector. Debesh Das, the new IT minister of West Bengal, wants to bring more investment in the IT and ITeS sector in the state.
He is planning to explore new sectors in IT like, silicon chip designing, which has tremendous potential of growth.After taking his oath on Thursday, he immediately came to the office and met the senior officials of the department. "I am trying to understand the works, which have been done so far and what to do first,¨ Mr Das stated.
"However, I can say that what has been achieved in the IT sector during the last few years, is really significant," Mr Das added. The man who is soft spoken by nature and one who believes in simplicity, is now responsible to bring the second generation of reforms in the state IT and ITeS sector. "We will have to explore new areas in the IT and ITeS sector. Among the areas, silicon chip designing should definitely be the one. We should catch up the investment in this area," Mr Das emphasised.
The new IT minister also has a major task in his hands — framing a policy for allotment of land to IT firms at a competitive price. Recently, Wipro and ITC Infotech declined to set up their proposed units at Rajarhat as the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited had asked the companies to cough up Rs 2.16 crores per acre in the area.
In Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Noida and Gurgaon, an acre of land is available at a price range of Rs 35 lakhs to Rs 55 lakhs for setting up an IT or ITeS unit, industry sources confirmed.
When asked about any possibility to frame an IT industry-friendly policy to tackle this issue, Mr Das said: "Definitely, we will have to think in this regard. But, in our state, per capita land is low in comparison to the other states. So, we should consider this also, while framing any such policy."
He is planning to explore new sectors in IT like, silicon chip designing, which has tremendous potential of growth.After taking his oath on Thursday, he immediately came to the office and met the senior officials of the department. "I am trying to understand the works, which have been done so far and what to do first,¨ Mr Das stated.
"However, I can say that what has been achieved in the IT sector during the last few years, is really significant," Mr Das added. The man who is soft spoken by nature and one who believes in simplicity, is now responsible to bring the second generation of reforms in the state IT and ITeS sector. "We will have to explore new areas in the IT and ITeS sector. Among the areas, silicon chip designing should definitely be the one. We should catch up the investment in this area," Mr Das emphasised.
The new IT minister also has a major task in his hands — framing a policy for allotment of land to IT firms at a competitive price. Recently, Wipro and ITC Infotech declined to set up their proposed units at Rajarhat as the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited had asked the companies to cough up Rs 2.16 crores per acre in the area.
In Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Noida and Gurgaon, an acre of land is available at a price range of Rs 35 lakhs to Rs 55 lakhs for setting up an IT or ITeS unit, industry sources confirmed.
When asked about any possibility to frame an IT industry-friendly policy to tackle this issue, Mr Das said: "Definitely, we will have to think in this regard. But, in our state, per capita land is low in comparison to the other states. So, we should consider this also, while framing any such policy."