Bringing Infosys, Wipro to Gujarat on new GIL CMD's agenda

With Gujarat Informatics Limited (GIL) getting its non-bureaucratic chairman and managing director for the first time, the nodal agency of Government of Gujarat is set to take some major steps in the IT sector.  Having assumed the office on Monday, Gururaja Rao, CMD, GIL is now eyeing top IT companies like Infosys and Wipro, and bringing them to Gujarat is the first on his agenda.

When asked about his immediate plans after assuming the office, Rao said, "The very first task is to bring those big IT companies like Infosys and Wipro to Gujarat.  If they can go to places like Bhubaneswar, why can't they come to Gujarat? Also, we will be encouraging young IT entrepreneurs in Gujarat to grow big as well."

This is not Rao's first stint in Gujarat.  The IT professional was part of the founding team of Gujarat Communications in Vadodara decades ago where Rao worked for about 20 years.  

Rao, who was previously with Bharat Electronics, Bangalore, said, "We are in talks with some senior officials in these companies and are convincing them to set up units in Gujarat.  There is no dearth of IT man power in Gujarat and the presence of these big companies will boost the image of the state."

The government agency was one of the co-organisers of an 'Indo-ASEAN IT Business Meet' on Monday. Talking about the challenges in bringing the big IT companies, Rao said, "These big companies are reluctant to come to Gujarat because they believe the entrepreneurship attitude of the people here will work against them.  They fear people will leave after every 2-3 years and start their own ventures.  However, we are trying to convince them otherwise.  Retention of workforce is possible in Gujarat as well."

The Indo-ASEAN BSM is expected to unlock the huge potential for business opportunities between the IT SMEs of Gujarat and the SMEs of other ASEAN countries.

The event was sponsored by GIL and Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat.