Dr. Avnish Jolly, Hyderabad, 5th November, 2008 :A high-level delegation from the Government of Punjab visited Hyderabad on Wednesday for a study and promotional tour of its IT/ITeS industry, following the approval last month of the strategy and action plan for the industry prepared by Ernst and Young.
The delegation comprising of the Government of Punjab’s Industry & Commerce Minister, Mr Manoranjan Kalia; Chairman, Punjab Infotec, Mr H S Grewal; Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce) Dr S.S. Channy; Managing Director, Punjab Infotech (Nodal agency for IT/ITeS promotion in Punjab) Mr. Rakesh Verma and officers of Punjab Infotech along with Ernst & Young consultants toured and engaged in one-to-one discussions with senior representatives of the city’s key IT majors – Microsoft, Satyam, Infotech, and Cordys and also visited L& T Infocity, Raheja IT Park, Satyam and Infotech.
The Government of Punjab hosted a breakfast meeting at the Novotel Hotel which was attended by top decision makers of several IT /ITeS majors of Hyderabad including ADP, Nvidia, Satyam BPO, TCS, DE Shaw, Broadridge, Goldstone and Amazon.
The delegation took the opportunity to showcase and promote IT/ITeS initiatives in Punjab and unveiled its flagship projects in the Kapurthala-Jalandhar and Ropar-Mohali corridors, where the Government will lead the development of IT/ITeS focused SEZs.
The Kapurthala project, in the vicinity of Jalandhar, is ideally positioned for ITeS investments, given the large base of human resources in the catchment wheras the Ropar project, adjacent to the proposed IIT is expected to emerge as the preferred hub for high end software development.
The delegation also met with potential investors followed by a tour of the L&T Infocity to gain insights on ‘best practice’ in IT infrastructure development.
Later in evening, the delegation proceeded to Bangalore to participate in the Bangalore IT.biz event being held from November 6-8, where the Industries Minister is the Guest of Honour at the event.