Infosys entry will give Bengal's image a fillip: NASSCOM

 IT industry body Nasscom has said presence of Infosys, which is in talks with the West Bengal government for setting up a campus here, would give a fillip to the state's positioning as an IT hub.

"As far as Infosys is concerned, the negotiations between the state government and Infosys is on. I am sure it will yield positive results. The presence of Infosys in West Bengal will give a great fillip to positioning the state as a IT hotspot," NASSCOM Regional Manager (East) Suparno Moitra told PTI here.

While Wipro and TCS are already present in the state, with the formal entry of Infosys, Bengal would get all the IT majors.

Infosys had planned in 2004 to invest some Rs 500 crore to set up a development centre in Kolkata housing 5,000 people and the state government had allotted 50 acres to it for Rs 75 crore.

While Infosys is negotiating with the state government for an SEZ status for setting up its first campus in the city, another IT major Wipro is planning a second campus here.

"Please note that Wipro already has a presence in Kolkata, which enjoys the SEZ status," Moitra said.

While the first facility was accorded SEZ status, Wipro was insisting on the same for its second campus at Rajarhat near here for which the state government has allotted 50 acres.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already ruled out giving SEZ status to Infosys citing the state government's policy decision which was against such zones.

Recently, WB Industry and IT Minister Partha Chatterjee had said Infosys was considering an alternative route to set up its office in the state rather than seeking SEZ status for the proposed unit here.

As per the SEZ Act, units and developers enjoy huge tax benefits, including income tax holidays for 10 years.

According to NASSCOM figures, total IT software exports from STPI & Non STPI units in West Bengal touched Rs 7,939 crore in 2011-12 registering a growth of 5.85 per cent.