'TN should target 25% of ICT market'

Tamil Nadu should target 25 per cent share of the domestic market for ICT, (information and communication technology) ie, about $30 billion revenue from IT, ITES and manufacturing by 2011, said Dayanidhi Maran, Union minister of communications and information technology.

This would enable the state to generate over 20 lakh jobs by 2011.

Addressing the valedictory session on 'Vision 2011' of the Connect 2006, he said that ICT ecosystem in Tamil Nadu was well-balanced and laid the foundation for such growth.

"Brand Tamil Nadu has become synonymous with high quality, dedication and stability, which has been the key for attracting many multinational corporations. Manufacturing is also poised to witness a rapid growth in the next few years, making the state a preferred destination for electronic manufacturing."

Pramod Haque, managing parnet, Norwest Venture Partners, said that there would be great opportunity for India, especially Chennai to emerge as a destination for hardware manufacturing as global companies were extremely concerned about single source supply base (China or Taiwan) and were looking for alternative manufacturing destination.

One of of the key advantages of Tamil Nadu was the huge number of engineering graduates coming out of the colleges, he said adding that the situation in the city was similar to the one that prevailed in Silicon Valley about 20 years ago.