Siliguri set to get IT incubation centre this month

With some information technology projects in West Bengal being cancelled or delayed a small development in Siliguri, a tier-III city, will be a cause for celebration as the IT incubation centre is set to be inaugurated next month.

The West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd (Webel)-promoted IT incubation centre, which could be the precursor to a bigger IT park, might be a victory for the IT department, though small.

“The IT Park, envisaged as a part of the overall policy of developing technology parks in the smaller cities of the state, will take the shape of an incubation centre. The centre will, in all likelihood, be inaugurated next month,” said Shyamal Dasgupta, executive director, corporate development and HR.

 

Interestingly, despite the incubation centre which is to come up at Matigara near Siliguri, questions have been raised about the potential of the city as a front-runner IT destination. The incubation centre spread across 6 floors, with a built up IT space of about 25,000 sq.ft. This is the first manifestation of the promise made by the West Bengal IT department, which promised the development of IT in the tier-II and III cities across the state.

At present, Webel is in touch with many companies for setting up IT operations within the facility, said Dasgupta, the chief among them being Acclaris. Kalyan Kar, managing Director, Acclaris, confirmed the development. “We are in talks with Webel for acquiring place in the incubation centre at Siliguri, but that is in the preliminary stage. The new centre will be an extension of the existing centre Acclaris has at the Software Technology Park,” Kar said.

Kar attributed Acclaris’ interest in Siliguri to factors of cost efficiency and available talent pool. He was, however, wary of the lack of the overall eco-system required for the development of IT. The centre would thus be a delivery centre and not an IT zone for Acclaris, he said.

“While the region is characterised by a ready talent pool and cost benefits, there is a problem with availability of infrastructure such as food. This is a problem given the largely manpower-centric nature of the IT industry,” Kar said. IT sector in Bengal has experienced failed projects such as the Kalyani special economic zone (SEZ) and appers to be off the IT majors’ radar since Infosys’ announcement that the company would not entern Bengal in the next 6 years, might have reason to celebrate but in the current scenario, the victory rings hollow.