Reliance Jio, Infosys To Set Up Projects In Bengal’s Proposed ‘Silicon Valley’

The West Bengal government today announced the creation of a technology hub at New Town near the metropolis, where companies like Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Infosys Ltd. will set up projects.

The foundation stone of the Bengal Silicon Valley Hub, to come up on 100 acres of land, was laid by the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She said West Bengal was an industry and technology-friendly state, with “one of the least attrition rates”, along with low operational costs.

State Chief Secretary Moloy De said that following Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s announcement at the previous Bengal Global Business Summit, Reliance Jio would set up a data centre on 40 acres within the hub.

Meanwhile, software services giant Infosys said it has commenced work on a new software development center inside the hub. As part of project, spread over 50 acres, Infosys will invest around Rs 100 crore in the first phase of construction, which will “create employment for 1,000 engineers initially,” a statement said.

The first phase of the project will be completed within 15 months from the date of obtaining all statutory clearances, it said.

The West Bengal government has also collaborated with Amazon Internet Service and FujiSoft for high-end IT solutions, State Finance Minister Amit Mitra said. Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh added that an international summit on small and medium enterprises would be held for the first time in India at Kolkata in January.