Integrated modern townships for IT-BPO soon: Maran

Mumbai, Feb 7 (UNI) The Centre is seriously considering the development of integrated modern townships for sunrise industries like IT-BPO.

Revealing this during the inaugural session of the three-day NASSCOM Leadership Forum summit here today, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology Thiru Dayanidhi Maran said, ''A recent note of recommendation from the PMO has strongly suggested for such townships.'' He said that infrastructure, in terms of better and more airports, particularly in Tier-I and Tier-II locations, and special modern greenfield integrated townships need to become a part of the country's future roadmap.

Creation of integrated townships will not only take the pressure off the large cities but also help in decentralising economic activities and spur the evolution of these cities, he said.

NASSCOM, the Department of Information Technology, and the Ministry of Urban Development have been brainstorming on how infrastructure for IT-BPO can be created and expanded in a phased way in Tier-I and Tier-II cities like Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Mohali and others, he said.

Later, talking to reporters, the Minister said, ''Increasing pressure on the metropolitan cities due to the growing IT industry has engendered the need for integrated townships.'' On the status of the Centre's move towards amending the Information Technology Act, 2000, Mr Maran said the Information Technology Amendment Bill has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

The Minister urged the Indian software sector to establish Village Knowledge Centres and help in improving the education and healthcare facilities in the remote rural areas.

The Minister also urged the IT-BPO industry to increase its proximity with emerging IT-BPO markets such as China, the Philipines, Korea and other countries in Eastern Asia and Europe where necessary infrastructure is available and cost of operations is low. Partnering with them for certain entry-level IT-BPO activities will help us serve a larger number of customers in a more cost-effective way, he said.

UNI