TN keen on promoting Chennai as IT destination

Tamil Nadu is keen to promote Chennai as a destination of 'relocation' for IT companies and will strive to remove all bottlenecks of red tape and agents of red tape to facilitate the process.

"TN is aiming to get branded as the 'intellectual capital of India' as it is blessed with an abundance of technically-skilled and highly trained human resource required for IT and ITES sectors. The state is determined to capture the leadership position in India in the information age," said D Jayakumar, Tamil Nadu minister of law and IT. He was speaking at the inauguration of Connect 2004, a premiere enterprise IT event of Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday.

The minister reiterated that the strength of Tamil Nadu lies in its varied base of manufacturing, agricultural and industrial sectors and that they are effectively deploying IT related activities to increase their international competitiveness.

"We shall provide a friendly business eco-system and highlight Tamil Nadu's low attrition rate, affordable cost of living, large bandwidth, air-connectivity and stable social and political environment. Tamil Nadu therefore scores high both in quantitative aspects and in qualitative terms," said Vivek Harinarain, secretary, department of IT, Government of Tamil Nadu.

"Connect 2004 is not only an event which will showcase Tamil Nadu as a preferred IT destination but will also give an opportunity for civil servants, ministers, IT professionals and academicians to assemble to learn, network and to invest," said S Mahalingam, chairman of Connect 2004 and CFO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

He also acknowledged Chennai to be a location where there was not only an availability of abundant skills but also a city where technology can be developed.