Kolkata, Chandigarh and Bhubaneshwar will be new IT hubs

New Delhi, June 25 (UNI) Kolkata, Chandigarh and Bhubaneshwar will be the future information technology hubs of India.

''Kolkata and Chandigarh are developing very fast and Bhubaneshwar which started off even before Kolkata has good prospects'' National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) President Kiran Karnik told UNI.

Focusing on Kolkata as an example of how environment of cities can be developed to make it friendly for the IT industry, he said,'' Whenever people ask me how to bring the IT industry to the state, I give the example of Kolkata and the role played by the state government in it''.

Mr Karnik said that the industry was also targeting cities like Kanpur, Dehra Dun and Lucknow in the North, Patna and Siliguri in the Eastern region, Nagpur in the West and Coimbatore and Kochi in the South.

However, he added that infrastructure like international air connectivity, road transport and power has to be developed in these places. ''Many of the cities do not yet have the right kind of infrastructure, but there is a great potential for development,''he stressed.

''However, we need to plan ahead so that we can develop cities like these three years down the line,'' he added.

Asked about the other facilities that these cities needed, he talked about medical and education facilities for the children who would work there and entertainment facilities.

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