MYSORE: The imminent entry of a Fortune 500 company and software exports from Mysore likely to touch Rs. 1,000 crore by the end of the current fiscal will give the city an image makeover more acceptable to potential investors.

And Information Technology (IT) exports from Mysore will continue to register 100 per cent growth for the next few years that will boost Mysore's image as the leader among Tier II cities in the country and evoke greater confidence among multi-national companies.

Mysore has also generated tremendous interest among IT companies. Surveys have proved that companies could incur a saving of 15 per cent on their current expenditure on infrastructure, human resources and transportation if they operated from Mysore.

B.V. Naidu, Director, Software Technology Parks of India, Bangalore and Hyderabad, told The Hindu here on Saturday that the city's software companies were poise to maintain an export growth rate of 100 per cent for the next few years.

The impact of the new-found confidence in Mysore is likely to have a spiralling effect on the service sector.

Software exports from Mysore cross ed the Rs. 400 crore mark last fiscal and this is expected to touch Rs. 1,000 crore if the current trend continued.

For a city that gingerly entered the IT sector and where STPI began its operations with just 2 companies in 1998-99, the number of IT companies have since steadily grown to 47, with scores of other projects approved for the city.

Mysore's proximity to Bangalore, relatively leisurely pace of life and low cost of living have tilted the scales in favour of Mysore.

Mr. Naidu said that also in the pipeline was the imminent entry to Mysore of Target Corporation, a US-based Fortune 500 retail giant that had an annual turn over of over $52 billion, and has acquired 20 acres of land in the city and was expected to invest about $15 million to $20 million to start with.

Target has pegged its Bangalore office strength at 2,000 and has plans to create an additional 4,000 jobs in Mysore. "There are other groups that have evinced interest in Mysore but it would be too early to disclose names at this juncture," he said.

The growth of a Tier II city would depend on the presence of a few multinational giants and an amalgam of large, medium and small industries and Mysore was well on its way to achieve the "critical mass" required to keep the investment flowing in.

Clustering effect

"This is also due to what is called the clustering effect where the Government, the industry and the academia converge to stimulate growth and we plan to make it happen in Mysore," Mr. Naidu said. The IT sector has imparted a new verve to the city that was content basking in its past glory and its reputation as a tourist centre.

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