Wipro plans second Kolkata centre

Even as Azim Premji inaugurated its first development centre in Kolkata, plans for the second centre were already being chalked out.

Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) eastern region, Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro, said the company would start construction for the next phase expansion, as soon as land was allocated.

The company has indicated 40 acres of land for the expansion and most likely it would be allocated at Rajarhat, the new IT hub of the state.

Premji today lauded the state government and chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya for its initiatives in attracting investment.

Addressing CII members, he said, Bhattacharya was the best chief minister in the country. He went on to add that one of the reasons behind choosing Kolkata as a centre for setting up a development centre was the political stability and continuity.

He pointed out, West Bengal had realised that ideologies do not create jobs, it was the industry and services which created jobs. Earlier in the day, while speaking at the inauguration of the development centre, Premji also send out a word of caution.

He said, the single largest challenge for West Bengal will be to scale up infrastructure, if it has to beat the southern states in attracting investment in the IT and ITES sector. While lauding the state government's enthusiasm, he said, West Bengal must not rest on its laurels and curb infrastructure spending as the southern states, which are losing incremental business.

Infrastructure and availability of quality talent pool are the two most important areas where the state has to ensure continuous support and progress. A well planned approach is needed to ensure that the demand and supply equation does not put the system under pressure. We are sure that the government will have a road map for ensuring rapid growth for the state, said Premji.

The facility at Salt Lake is situated on a 16 acre plot, and houses a software development block, customer care centre, learning centre, utilities block and employee recreation facilities. The facility will be expanded in phases.

The investment in the centre is to the tune of Rs 200 crore and has an employee strength of 1,000, at present with 60 per cent under the BPO arm, Wipro Spectramind.

Premji was gung-ho about the prospects of the state and said West Bengal had a huge talent pool, which was well equipped to meet the global challenges faced in the industry.

"We would like to leverage on this strength of the state creating employment opportunity for many IT professionals from this region." Chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya said, the state would be happy to allocate land to Wipro, if it decided to set up another centre in Kolkata.