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Spreading the IT WealthIn recent years, the expansion of India's IT
Service Companies has been an important factor in accelerating the economic
growth of India's major metors, particularly in the southern half of the
country. Only recently has Kolkata finally attracted the attention of India's
IT bigwigs who have been surprised ar how they missed out on its enormous
intellectual potential for so many years. As land prices escalate in IT hotspots such
as Banglaore and long commutes become a growing source of irritation
and frustration, one would think that India's IT majors would be scouring
the country for alternative sites to expand in. While it is understandable
that foreign businesses would prefer to locate their Indian R&D centers
in more familiar and already established locations offering international
air connectivity, there ought to be no such biases on the part of Indian
IT investors. Whether it is lack of awareness of all the options or a reluctance
to fight the 'herd mentality', senior Indian IT managers have generally
shown a singular lack of boldness in picking their expansion sites. Even as many IT companies have found it difficult
to retain existing talent in the more expensive metros, they haven't yet
given India's smaller towns with good universities and good engineering
colleges a serious look. For instance, take Vishakhapatnam: its
Andhra University probably outranks Hyderabad's Osmania University in most
respects, and its Engineering College is probably superior to JNTU's Hyderabad
branch. With an attractive seaside location, daily flights to Hyderabad,
direct air connections to other Indian metros, and good train connectivity to much of the country, it ought to be a reasonable alternative to Hyderabad or
Chennai. However, it appears that land acquisition delays might be the
bottleneck, and if that were to remain an issue, Vijayawada ought
to be a good second choice. With a reasonably good University of its own,
a new daily air connection to Hyderabad, good highways, and a large number
of passing long-distance trains, it could easily relieve some of the burden
on Hyderabad. Tirupati, which also provides daily air links to Hyderabad,
could also serve as a reasonable alternative. With a good university, one
of Andhra's top five engineering colleges, and a scenic location roughly
equi-distant between Bangalore and Chennai, it ought to merit as serious
consideration as have Mysore and Mangalore. The university town of Warangal
- with its nationally renowned Engineering College, and relatively unknown
but fascinating Kakathiya heritage might also be deserving of more serious
attention. In neigbouring Tamil Nadu, Trichy,
Coimbatore and Madurai, should all be attracting very serious
attention for their vibrant science and engineering educational institutions.
With each offering daily air connectivity to Chennai and beyond, it is a wonder that
they haven't yet attracted any major IT-related investment. In Karnataka,
where Engineering colleges are scattered virtually throughout the state,
the university towns of Hubliand Belgaum (with recently acquired
air-connectivity) have also not yet come under the radar of major IT players.
In Maharashtra, Kolhapur with its fine
University, and proximity to several Government PG Colleges and Private
Engineering Colleges has also not yet attracted much attention, even though
it is now connected by a daily flight to Mumbai. However, it is perhaps in the Hindi-speaking
states where the indifference (or even prejudice) of IT majors appears
to be most glaring. By and large, Indian industry has simply passed over
the Hindi belt, ignoring the vast amount of scientific, mathematical and
analytical talent that could be easily tapped by creative enterpreneurs.
In Madhya Pradesh, Gwaliorand Jabalpur (like Bhopal)
boast of Universities with affiliated science and engineering colleges that
could provide a wealth of keen graduates, no less capable than those recruited
from South India's Private Engineering Colleges. With daily air connections
to Delhi, and proximity to numerous historic sites and scenic locations,
these towns ought to be a pleasant counterpoint to the stress of India's
overstretched metros. Even bustling Indore, with its numerous colleges
and research institutions, expanding IIM, and nearby hillside escapes, ought
to be a better option than grossly over-built Mumbai. Even UP, for all its notoriety offers several
options worth considering. Although Agra is better known for its
spectacular monuments, it is not entirely lacking in good educational institutions.
With daily air and Shatabdi connections to Delhi, and a realtively less-polluted
environment due to strict Supreme Court guidelines, its Southern areas
could provide more livable options once Noida and Gurgaon are saturated.
In addition, Agra could be a draw for graduates from Kanpur,
Meerut and Aligarh, as well as graduates from several
new Private Engineering Colleges that have come up in the region. Also
not to be ignored are Allahabad and Benaras. Both offer a
strong science and engineering educational infrastructure, and both are
on the country's air map. While each has its infrastructural shortcomings,
each city has neighborhoods that are pleasant and livable. With expected improvements in roads and bridges, they could
merit a second look. In Rajasthan, Jodhpur
and Kota ought to be in the running with Jaipur. It should also be noted that although the Hindi-belt
generally lacks the widespread proliferation of engineering colleges
as might Andhra or Tamil Nadu, its smaller Universities (such as Jaunpur
or Rewa) have fairly good Computer Science and Maths researchers. In addition,
PG colleges in the smaller towns are producing some intellectually keen
math and science graduates and post-graduates. Indian industry could also take a serious
look at three steel cities with a very technologically
aware middle class: Durgapur, Rourkela and Jamshedpur. IT
companies that take the trouble of locating their Development Centers in
these cities might be very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the manpower
that they might find in these somewhat forgotten college towns. Neither has the Central Government taken any
steps to encourage or facilitate much-needed geographic diversification
of India's still rapidly expanding IT industry. But it is only a matter
of time when CEOs of India's leading IT industries will be compelled to
acknowledge that all their IT facilities cannot be located in Bangalore,
Chennai, Hyderabad , Navi Mumbai or Pune. The high cost of procuring land,
and the inevitable squeeze on infrastructure and related resources will
force geographic diversification. The wise will simply do it first, rather
than wait for things to get worse in the already saturated metros.
Related Essays: Human Development and Infrastructure in the Indian Subcontinent Is India Shining? Where is India headed in terms of Culture and Civilization? Back for other selections from South Asian Voice for other articles on issues confronting India and the region. Also see South Asian History or Topics in Indian History for relevant essays that shed some light on the history of the subcontinent. (If you liked our site, or would like to help with the South Asian Voice project and help us expand our reach, please click here) To send an e-mail, write to india.resource @yahoo.com
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