IIT Kharagpur to set up VLSI parks

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) today proposed to set up a very large-scale integration (VLSI) design and manufacturing park in Kharagpur with a twin hub in Kolkata.

IIT-KGP has initiated talks on this with West Bengal's information technology (IT) department and Bengal IT minister Manabendra Mukherjee.

If the project becomes a reality, then this would be first such venture in the country, said G D Gautama, principal secretary, department of IT, government of West Bengal (GoWB).

A formal proposal would be submitted to the IT department within a month, Partha P Chakrabarti, professor-in-charge of advanced VLSI design lab, said .

Manab Mukherjee added that the state government was very optimistic about these VLSI parks. "There has been many discussions on the project but the details of the government's role and participation are yet to be worked out. Once the formal proposal is submitted, the IT department will start working on the project," said Mukherjee.

The park would have a manufacturing unit, a design centre cluster and computer aided design (CAD) tool development unit, informed Chakrabarti.

IIT Kharagpur would also request the West Bengal government and the central government to provide land and necessary infrastructure for the park.

It is also seeking partial funding for the project. IIT Kharagpur, on its part, will help in developing these parks and also, in association with India Semiconductor Association (ISA), would try to attract potential investors for the project.

"Discussions have been held with several major companies like Wipro, Magma and National Semiconductor and they have shown lot of interest in the project," he added.

IIT Kharagpur has taken this initiative as part of its 'Bengal technology mission', Chakrabarti said.

Gautama said West Bengal was best suited for developing such a park because of its talent pools. "Such a park will provide a platform for high-level research in an area which has huge potential owing to the immense global demand. It would significantly contribute in generating employment for skilled professionals in the state," he added.

VLSI technology is primarily used in making certain types of semiconductors, used in several industries like telecommunication, electronics, television , to name a very few.