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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICY
2.
Significantly
lower cost of operations
Kolkata offers IT
players one of the lowest operation costs in the
country. This is reflected in the low CMIE consumer
price indices,
compared to other key IT destinations in the country
(355 for Kolkata compared to 454 for Chennai, 413 for
Bangalore, 410 for Hyderabad and 401 for Delhi). Also,
the low attrition levels in Kolkata reduce the
training costs incurred by employers. The state’s
transport system offers one of the lowest transport
costs
In addition, the
state offers best-in-class fiscal one-time and
recurring incentives to IT companies. These incentives
further strengthen the value proposition of Kolkata as
a low-cost centre.
3. High
quality infrastructure
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The state has strengths in all areas of physical
infrastructure. This includes international
telecom connectivity, physical and social
infrastructure and power supply. Kolkata is also
well connected to international destinations in
Asia, Europe and the US.
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3.1 |
Telecom connectivity:
Kolkata offers about 580 Mbps of international
satellite connectivity through VSNL and STPI.
About 70 per cent of this bandwidth is available
to new players. The state is now planning to set
up two more earth stations at Kharagpur (near IIT)
and Durgapur. Cable connectivity is
provided through leased BSNL lines to Mumbai and
onward connectivity through submarine cables.
Besides BSNL, private players like Reliance
Infocomm and Bharti Telesonic are in the process
of connecting Kolkata as well. In addition,
multiple local loop options are available from
BSNL, STPI WLL/OFC. |
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3.2
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Availability of built-up
space and land:
Kolkata offers excellent walk-in physical
infrastructure. These include the STP2 in the Salt
Lake IT hub and privately constructed parks like
Bengal Intelligent Park (BIP) and Infinity. These
house over 170 IT/ITeS companies, employing some
15,000 IT professionals. In addition, the
Government makes plots available for new IT
projects at the highly subsidised rate of about Rs
40 lakh per acre, which is 15-20 per cent of the
market price. WEBEL plans to create a new IT
infrastructure over a 10 acre plot of land in
Newtown. The urban infrastructure in the Newtown
is to have a special focus on the growth of
knowledge based industries and will enourage
creation of social infrastructure required to
sustain the growth. |
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3.3 |
Continuous supply of
high-quality power at a low cost:
Its high investments in power
generation over the last 10 years have made West
Bengal one of the few power-surplus states in
India. In fact, in their recent surveys, both
Nasscom and Gartner have ranked Kolkata as the
best place in the country on the dimension of
power infrastructure. The high percentage of
thermal power ensures that the supply is not
adversely affected during dry season.
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3.4 |
Availability of social
infrastructure: The
Government recognises the importance of social
infrastructure in attracting senior/middle
management talent to Kolkata. The city has
excellent social infrastructure in place. These
include social, sports, rowing, swimming and golf
clubs of international repute; cultural centres,
recreational centres; excellent hotels; some of
the best schools in India; privately managed
hospitals and a range of tourist destinations
nearby. To further improve facilities in and
around Salt Lake, a dedicated team has been drawn
up from the IT companies that have a presence in
the area. Hyatt Regency and IT Sonarbangla has
started their operations in the city and both
these facilities are located in the Salt Lake area |
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3.5 |
Good connectivity to
international locations:
Kolkata is well connected to
prime locations overseas and in India. These
include the prime Asian hubs of Bangkok and
Singapore as well as key Western locations such as
London, Amsterdam, San Francisco and New York. The
city is also well connected to important domestic
locations through daily flights.
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