Indian Govt lines up $2 bn power deal for IT firms

Mumbai, Oct 20: The Indian government has lined up over $2 billion to help the country to cap energy losses through use of IT, a media report said.

According to a report, the central government has launched a $10.86 billion (Rs500 billion) plan to cut power distribution losses in the country, with a fifth of the funds devoted to using IT at state-run distribution companies.

Rajdeep Sehrawat, Vice President, of IT body NASSCOM said, "It's a massive opportunity. As a business opportunity IT companies are excited."

"This is the next wave. In the next 3-4 years the utilities will spend a lot of money, they don't have a choice and the government is providing them a lot of money," said Vilas Kanyal, business unit head at software firm Mastek.

States like West Bengal and Rajasthan have already awarded IT projects, while others including Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are in the process of doing so, government officials said.

Earlier, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) won a project in Madhya Pradesh.

OneIndia News