| Software exports from tier II cities in Andhra Pradesh grew from about Rs 50 crore in 2003-04 to about Rs 100 crore in 2004-05, in Karnataka it grew from Rs 636 crore to Rs 876 crore from 2003-04 to 2004-05. |
| In Tamil Nadu, however, in spite of an overall growth of 40.43 per cent to Rs 10,703.10 crore in 2004-05, tier two cities accounted only for Rs 58.92 crore as compared to the Rs 63.05 crore contribution they made to the Rs 7621.50 crore exports it clocked in 2003-04. |
| In 2003-04, Coimbatore accounted for Rs 45.76 crore, Tanjavur for Rs 0.94 crore, Tiruchi for Rs13.42 crore, Madurai for Rs 0.13 crore and Salem for Rs 2.60 crore. |
| In 2004-05, the figures were ; Coimbatore with Rs 48.85 crore, Tiruchi and Tanjavur with Rs 7.86 crore, Madurai with Rs 0.30 crore, and Salem and Ranipet with Rs 1.89 crore. The only silver lining was that Ranipet and Sivakasi figured on the list for the first time in 2004-05 |
| "Potential cities (for software export) like Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchi have become man-power sourcing places because there is no infrastructure. In Madurai and Tiruchi there are plans to create infrastructure in 2005-06, the results of which will be realised in 2006-07," said R Rajalakshmi, director, Software Technology Parks of India, Chennai (STPI-C). |
| STPI-C, which had created a 1.5 lakh sq ft software park at Kumaraguru College of Technology in Coimbatore has found four companies which have blocked the entire space. |
| Buoyed by the response, STPI-C plans to build another 1.5 lakh sq feet on the same 150 acre Kumaraguru campus starting March next year through a possible public-private partnership. Plans are also afoot to set up a one lakh sq ft software park in Tanjavur shortly. |
| B V Naidu, director, STPI, Bangalore and Hyderabad said that, "A lot of branding and showcasing of tier two cities as alternative cities so that companies can go there is being planned. If one MNC is attracted (to tier two cities) than a clustering effect is created." |
| The cities that he thinks have a good potential for future growth are Mangalore, Mysore, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam. |
| In the case of both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, facilitation by STPI in terms of physical infrastructure has been the most important factor in getting companies to invest in tier II cities. |
| Incubation centres have been set up in cities like Hubli and Tirupati, and proposals have also been dispatched to the government of India to set up incubation centres in Gulbarga and Kakinada. |
Explore Business Standard