Kolkata at a Glance

The erstwhile Capital of India, Kolkata has witnessed a steady exodus of

industries over the past few decades. In an attempt to recapture the lost

mantle, the West Bengal government has been trying to promote Kolkata as a hub

for IT and ITES during the past few years, and has met with some success. It is

the second most populous city in India.

Policy support



On November 1, 2001 the West Bengal government launched the Stateâ„¢s

incentive scheme for the IT and ITES industries, which is valid till October 31,

2006. The scheme is applicable to all the units that are being set up and those

that are being expanded on or after November 1, 2001. The units may be in the

private, public or co-operative sector.

The incentives are based on the location of the unit. The Kolkata Municipal

Corporation has been classified as a separate area eligible for certain

benefits.

Eligible units are allowed to remain open 24 hours a day and work in three

shifts, irrespective of national holidays. They are also out of the purview of

the West Bengal Pollution Control Board.

Infrastructure



Although many IT and ITES companies have set up shop in the city, a lot

remains to be done to facilitate business. Along with the problem of 

poor perception, several infrastructure requirements also need to be

addressed. The port of Haldia at the mouth of the Hoogly, situated some three

hours away, serves the city.

STPI: Only 2% of the approved units under the STPI scheme in the country are

located in the city. However, the city plays host to an international VSNL

gateway.

Telecom: Although the first telephones in the country were fitted here (just

five years after telephone was invented,) the current level of penetration lags

behind the other metros. With 1.2 million landlines, the city has achieved a

tele-density of only 9.5%, compared to about 15% in Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore

and Hyderabad.

Education: Being one of the oldest cities in the country, Kolkata has a good

educational infrastructure in place. It is home to one of the Indian Institutes

of Management and the oldest Indian Institute of Technology is located two hours

away from the city.

Physical infrastructure: The city has the only Metro (underground) railway in

the country, but public transportation leaves much to be desired. About 850,000

vehicles jostle for space on 1,500 km of roads, compared with a slightly higher

number of vehicles on twice the road space available in Chennai.

Power: The city does not have pre-scheduled power cuts. The average tariff

for one unit of power is Rs 3.41.

Real estate: The slowdown has forced companies to cut costs, and thus, real

estate overheads have come under thorough scrutiny. As a result, the cost of

prime office space in the CBD has declined slightly over the past two years.

TEAM DQ



Source: The ITeS Super Nine, a report by Nasscom