Bhubaneswar: The Juggernaut Rolls On

All know that Lord Jagannath is the presiding deity of Orissa
and, understandably, revered across the state. But, not too many are aware that
the benevolent God has also contributed one word to the English lexicon: juggernaut.
No surprise, therefore, that while looking at the IT juggernaut that is
currently rolling across the capital city, Bhubaneswar, the thoughts should
automatically go back toward Lord Jagannath.

And, while the jury is still out as to whether divine blessings
are responsible for this IT revolution, the fact is that with a growing volume
of software exports, strong e-Governance initiative, and a good local marketthanks
to burgeoning industries ranging from steel, aluminum, power to the nearby
missile testing range at ChandipurBhubaneswar would surely be among the top
favorites to make its mark soon on the Indian tech map.

And, this is no pipedream. Bhubaneswar already ranks very high
on the software exports frontwith Rs 732 crore completed in 2006-07,
Bhubaneswar was 9th in the pecking order among Indian cities. Says Vishal Dev,
director, IT, government of Orissa, "Till last year, we were the largest
city in the whole of Eastern India on software exports, before being overtaken
by Kolkata." And, now have ambitious plans to reach $1,000 mn in software
exports by 2012.

Konark Temple

It is also one of the few cities in the country that boasts of
the presence of the Big Four of Indian software exports. While Infosys and
Satyam have been present in the city for quite some time and have 3,000 and
1,000 people respectively, TCS, after starting last year, has recruited 300
people. Wipro, too, has started campus construction. Add to this, Genpact, IBM
Daksh, and ICICI, which are starting their eastern region BPO hubs, and it
becomes obvious why Bhubaneswar today commands respect as an IT/BPO destination.
The picture would not be complete without mentioning the arrival of MindTree
Consulting, Aricent, Contiloe Films as well as Perfectus, which plan a 5,000
seater IT/BPO unit.

The arrival of these leading players also indicates how
Bhubaneswar has come of age on both infrastructure as well as manpower fronts.
The city today boasts of four SEZs: the earliest one, the 350 acre Infocity is
already full; the first phase of the DLF Infopark work is in progress, work is
starting on an integrated IT park, known as Knowledge Park, while sanction has
been given to the Mancheswaran Industrial Estate (29 acres).

Manpower

Such little details prove that while the IT juggernaut is in motion,
Bhubaneswar is totally conscious of the need to develop a social infrastructure
conducive to fostering IT. That explains why the state ranks high in terms of
providing manpower supply; that with forty-five engineering colleges and
forty-three MCA colleges, it could do so, is a no-brainer. But, while earlier
this supply was mainly migrating elsewhere, it is now getting populated in
Bhubaneswar itself.

That fact that technical education is a major priority of the
state government has definitely helped. While engineering colleges affiliated to
nine of the universities in the state were earlier brought and standardized
under the aegis of the Biju Patnaik University, the government is now setting up
an IIIT, where it will start with an M Tech program in order to create a crop of
new qualified faculty. Also on the anvil are plans to start NISER and a campus
of IIT Kharagpur. The Vedanta Group and Sri Sri Ravishankara Vidya Mandir Trust
are also setting up technical colleges in the city.

Others in the Game

While the larger companies in the city registered an overall growth of 58%
in 2006-07, SMEs like JSS witnessed 120% growth. JSS Consultancy is a domestic
BPO playerit handles Citibank for the entire eastern region, as well as other
major clients like Tata Indicom, HSBC, Citi Financial, HDFC Standard Life, and
Centurion Bank for Orissa.

Its not only about the local SMEs; domestic IT consumption is
also on the rise in the city. Reasons are not too far to locate: while Orissa
today boasts of steel plants like Jindal, Bhushan, and Neelachal, very soon it
will also have Posco, Arcelor-Mittal, and Tata Steel, making it probably the
global steel hub. Add to this, power plants like the Jindals and aluminum plants
like NALCO, Hindalco, and Sterlite. Paradip Port and the airport in Bhubaneswar
are being modernized while the East Coast HQ is finally coming up next month.

Rajesh Dora, MD, Printlink, one of Bhubaneswars largest
resellers and SIs, agrees to this. He also informs that other than the steel
sector, even the engineering colleges and institutions like OUAT and Institute
of Physics are significant consumers of IT.

The Future Sunrise

The experts, too, have endorsed a bright future for Bhubaneswar. According
to McKinsey, Orissas economy is poised to grow at 7.1% over the next 10-12
years, the highest in Eastern India. Morgan Stanley comments that Orissa shall
emerge as a center for metals business in India and attract investments of up to
$3040 bn over the next five years. Even if these predictions are partially
met, the impact of IT would be enough to create waves in the Bay of Bengal. The
CMIEs forecast that Orissa accounted for 15% of total investments in hand in
the country in 2006, and the World Bank ranking Bhubaneswar 5th among cities in
ease of doing business within India further endorses the seal of approval.

An oft-neglected, but very crucial role in this IT growth of the
city has been played by the government. While on the e-Governance front, the
state has won awards for two consecutive years (for the Shishu locator program
and the OCAC website), a proactive government with an urbane and suave CM at the
helm has created a conducive environment for IT. The stability of the political
regime too has helped. A confident Naveen Patnaik proudly proclaims, "Bhubaneswar,
indeed, is the future sunrise of the IT industry." His father Biju Patnaik
is regarded by many as the architect of modern Orissa. Can the son repeat the
same success in making it a knowledge state? Lord Jagannath willing, the
juggernaut looks unstoppable.