The Hindu : `Mysore's software export potential great'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 13, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

`Mysore's software export potential great'

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE JULY 12. The Director of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), B.V. Naidu, said here today that Mysore had the potential to export software worth over Rs. 1,500 crore in the next five years.

Dr. Naidu was speaking after launching the Mysore IT Forum. He said that though the target seemed far-fetched now, it could be achieved by adopting the right strategy.

Dr. Naidu said that Mysore was estimated to export software worth around Rs. 80 crore during the current financial year, which was a 100 per cent increase over last year's. But, this was not sufficient to reach the target of Rs. 1,500 crore, he added.

Describing the formation of an IT Forum here as a right step, he said that Mysore required branding and anchor companies to give a boost to the industry. Dr. Naidu said that big companies acting as anchors would increase the employment potential in the area.

He said IT-enabled services (ITES) were one of the good options for alternative cities. In the light of neighbouring countries emerging as competitors, secondary cities should be strategically developed for providing ITES, which was expected to contribute at least 50 per cent of the IT services that would be offered from Bangalore in the near future.

On the demand for better infrastructure in Mysore, Dr. Naidu said the Government had done whatever had to be done for the growth of the industry over the past decade, and it was up to the entrepreneurs to utilise the infrastructure already created. Entrepreneurs should have more interaction with officials and academics for chalking out a strategy for development of the industry, he added.

On the distance between Bangalore and Mysore, Dr. Naidu said it should not come in the way of development. He pointed out that major IT hubs in the U.S. were at least an hour's drive from major cities such as San Francisco and Boston. Despite the downward trend in the industry, Mysore had already shown a healthy growth of 30 per cent. He said that India could sustain the slowdown due to its cost advantage and other favourable factors. Developed countries were looking towards India for investment and the country had emerged as a role model among developing countries, Dr. Naidu said.

Task force meet

Dr. Naidu said that the task force on IT would meet on July 22 to discuss the McKinsey report on the development of alternative centres such as Mysore. He said that smaller destinations would continue to receive support from the Government.

The President of Mysore IT Forum, M.N. Shivaram, the Chairman of the Mysore Agenda Task Force (MATF), R. Guru, and Director (Technical) of the J.S.S. Mahavidyapeeta, Dhananjaya, were present.

Chinese team arrives

A Chinese delegation arrived here today to explore the IT potential here that could lead to technology transfer. The group headed by the Vice-President of the Beijing Institute of Machinery (BIM), Han Qiushi, held discussions with the representatives of Mysore IT Forum and visited SJCE-STEP.

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