The Hindu : Front Page : Gowda seeks to dispel anti-IT image

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 27, 2005

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Front Page

Gowda seeks to dispel anti-IT image

Special Correspondent

Eighth edition of Bangalore's premier IT event gets under way

PREMIER EVENT: Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, Governor T.N.Chaturvedi, the former Prime Minister, H.D. Deve Gowda, the IT Minister of Australia, Helen Coonan, and the British High Commissioner to India, Michael Arthur, at the inaugural of Bangalore IT.in 2005 in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: G.R.N. Somashekar

Bangalore: Dispelling the image of his being an information technology (IT) industry-basher, former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda on Wednesday said he had taken several decisions as Chief Minister and Prime Minister to attract IT investment into the State. But he urged the industry to provide jobs to "talented young engineers" and "people who are uprooted in the process of land acquisition for setting up industries." He was addressing delegates at the inauguration of Bangalore IT.in here.

Eighth edition

The eighth edition of Bangalore's premier information technology (IT) event has been re-christened Bangalore IT.in (from BangaloreIT.com). It got under way after pre-event hiccups with a section of the IT industry announcing a boycott of the event, protesting against infrastructure bottlenecks. However, the boycott call was withdrawn by the industry after assurances from the Government.

The event, which positions Bangalore as a destination for IT investments, also came under a cloud after Mr. Gowda raised the issue of land allotments to the IT sector. Added to that there was the dampener of torrential rain over the past few days. As luck would have it, the event went off without a hitch.

The event has a line-up of top government representatives from various countries. The British High Commissioner in India, Sir Michael Arthur; the Australian Minister for Communications, Helen Coonan; the Victorian Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Marsha Thomson; and the Deputy Minister for Communications of Ghana, Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, are among the international guests attending the event.

The event is getting bigger by the year. This year 17 countries, 19 States and 270 companies, including 115 international, are participating. For the first time, countries such as Mexico and Spain have put up stalls. Australia has come with a bigger delegation and the presence of the U.K. continues, while France, New Zealand, Belgium and Japan have put up stalls. This year the event will witness the formal launching of the India chapter of Information Technology Systems Management (ITSM), a non-profit society headquartered in the U.K.

Bangalore's ambience

Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, who presided, said the coalition government in the State is fully committed to ensuring that the ambience of Bangalore as an international IT destination is enhanced.

The success of R&D centres set up here by many multinational companies has spurred many more leading global IT companies to either set up or relocate their centres to Bangalore, he said.

Stating that Karnataka has the advantage of low-cost, world-class technical institutions and abundant availability of highly qualified manpower, Mr. Singh said the Government is doing its utmost to improve Bangalore's infrastructure both in the short and long terms.

Mr. Gowda, in his address, said it was during his tenure as Chief Minister that the IT Park was cleared.

He was instrumental in granting a 10-year tax holiday to IT firms operating in the State. Besides, several steps were taken to decongest Bangalore city, including the formation of an outer ring road.

"Can anybody dare say that during the 18 months that I was Chief Minister, Deve Gowda had tried to create a hindrance for the growth of Karnataka and the IT sector?" he asked.

Mr. Gowda said he is not "jealous or bothered" about the earnings of IT companies and stressed that the incentives have been given with the intention that the IT sector should be able to utilise "talented young engineers" in the State.

"But the IT industry sadly lacks in accountability that was expected of them," he stated.

`Rural economy

the key aspect'

Emphasising that the rural economy is a key aspect of development, Mr. Gowda urged IT and other industries in the State "to provide job opportunities to people thrown out of their land instead of making them wander the streets in search of food."

Attacking those whom he accused of having started a "whispering campaign" against the Congress-led coalition government in the State barely two months after it assumed power, he said this type of whispering campaign will not "destabilise the Government."

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