Citizens’ Research Collective on SEZ

T.E. Raja Simhan

Tirunelveli, January 18, 2008: Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Elcot) plans to construct 50,000 sq ft of IT built up space in Tirunelveli IT SEZ at a cost of Rs 15 crore. This infrastructure will come up in the next five months, according to Mr C. Umashankar, Managing Director, Elcot.

The park is likely to generate direct employment to over 40,000 people in the next five years and around one lakh jobs in ten years. Sutherland and Hexaware have taken up land in the park and the Government expects ten more IT companies to come in, he said.

Tamil Nadu Government has decided on a joint venture-based development plan in an area of 400 acres in Tirunelveli IT park. Elcot is coming out with a tender to identify the private partner, he said.

Tier-II talent
After the success of Coimbatore, the State Government is promoting tier-II cities like Tirunelveli, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchi and Hosur as alternative IT destinations. The Tirunelveli region is called the Oxford of the South because of the presence of large educational institutions.

The region consists of Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and Kanyakumari districts. These districts have around 110 colleges producing over 50,000 graduates, including 22,000 engineering graduates every year.

Despite the presence of leading educational institutions, the region has not attracted the attention of IT companies. This was mainly due to lack of communication skills among students, who otherwise excel in studies, said an official of a leading IT company.

Seminar
To change this perception, Elcot along with Nasscom (National Association of Software Services Companies) conducted ‘empowerIT’ to showcase the strength of the IT talent pool in the region.

Over 10,000 college students attended the two-day seminar that brought IT companies and students from the regions together to discuss IT-related issues, including job opportunities in the industry.

Tamil Nadu IT secretary, Dr C. Chandramouli, said the State has a 14 per cent share in India’s IT software and hardware industry. The Government’s vision is to take the share to 25 per cent by 2011. This will, however, happen only if IT is taken to every district possible in the State, he said.

Source: Business Line