Jio, TCS, two others in fray for a spot in Kolkata's Silicon Valley

Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra said that TCS is planning to invest Rs 12 billion in Kolkata

The proposed Silicon Valley Hub in Kolkata, the flagship information technology (IT) project of the West Bengal government, has attracted four major players — Reliance Jio, Tata Consultancy Services, Capgemini and Firstsource. 

The four companies are the major ones among others to have submitted proposals under the expression of interest (EOI) floated by the West Bengal government for setting up units in the proposed hub, said Amit Mitra, finance, commerce, industry and IT minister of West Bengal, at the TiECON summit on entrepreneurship in Kolkata.

While Jio had sought 40 acres of land, TCS had sought 20 acres, Capgemini 10 acres and Firstsource 4 acres. The proposals of the four companies account for 75 per cent of 100 acre land in the hub. 

In view of the positive response, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has sanctioned another parcel of 100 acres of land under the project, said Mitra. 

The eligibility criteria of the applications will need to be examined before confirming the allotment of land, added Mitra. A total of 30 enquiries were made for the hub, while about 19 applicants came forward with a proposal, according to the minister. 

Further, the land would be given at break-even price to the companies. 

Briefing on the growing IT landscape of Kolkata, Mitra said that TCS is planning to invest close to Rs 12 billion in Kolkata, and adding about 2.5 million square feet of space. 

It will add close to 17,000 new heads in its Kolkata campus, which would add to its existing workforce of 38,000 in the city, he said. 

Further, with this, the headcount in Kolkata for TCS would surpass that in Bangalore, said Mitra. 

The information technology sector in Kolkata currently employees about 180 thousand people at present, against 80,000 in 2011, said Mitra.

“All the IT companies in the state are in an expansion mode. While in 2011, the number of IT professionals working were 80,000, now it stands at around 180,000,” he said.

The setting up of the Silicon Valley hub was formally announced in August, and the CM had also announced that Infosys was planning to set up a software development centre at the hub, with an investment of Rs 1 billion, which would generate 1,000 jobs in the first phase.