Infotech honchos sound warning bell: Bangalore Ta Ta!

04th June 2011
Infotech honchos sound warning bell: Bangalore Ta Ta!
Boom time Bangalore? Nay, says IT industry

 

Anywhere, but here! IT  players cite Gurgsaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Pune, Hyderabad as options if Bangalore  infrastructure continues to  crumble.

Over half the Infotech companies polled in a just-concluded survey undertaken by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) say the so-called silicon capital,    Bangalore, is losing its attraction – thanks to crumbling infrastructure—and they are forced to look towards more convenient and industrial-friendly centres, especially the satellite cities of Gurgaon and Noida

“The growth explosion in Bangalore has pushed the city towards a serious civic crisis,” said ASSOCHAM secretary general D.S. Rawat. “Roads choked with vehicles, frequent power outages, erratic water supply and poor sanitation are tough problems on account of which Bangalore is losing its luster to rapidly-developing Gurgaon and Noida.”
ASSOCHAM interacted with around 800 directors, CEOs, CFOs, chairmen and managing directors of Indian and multinational companies in various verticals with a choice of five cities to relocate their businesses to garner more revenues.
As many as 30 per cent top-ranked officials of IT companies based out of Bangalore said they prefer to shift their business to Gurgaon. Of the remaining, 25 per cent respondents said that they would prefer to shift their base to Noida or Greater Noida which are rapidly developing software and BPO hubs. About 20 per cent said that they would prefer to shift their base to Chandigarh which offers a conducive business environment.

Nearly 15 per cent of respondents said that they prefer Pune to operate from where a large number of IT companies are running their operations. The remaining 10 per cent of respondents said they will prefer to relocate their business to Hyderabad.

"Gurgaon’s cosmopolitan culture, modern infrastructure, availability of skilled workforce, closeness to Delhi along with industry-friendly government policies are the factors which gives it an edge over Bangalore,” said  Rawat.

In Bangalore, narrow and choked roads and poor civic amenities are some reasons why software companies have stopped expanding their business operations. Deteriorating quality of life, pollution, and rising costs of goods and services are adding to Bangalore’s woes.

A day after the ASSOCHAM study was releases, Financial Chronicle quotes Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys Co-Chairman designate : “Based on data, Bangalore continues to be number one. Number of employees working in the industry, total output and exports from the city, and number of multinational companies present in Bangalore show that this is true. Every city or region has some problem or other due to the fast growth of our urban centres. We must proactively address them so that the quality of life of the citizen improves over time in all our urban centers,”
Adds the FC report: Many outside Bangalore feel that if Bangalore-based IT and ITES firms were to expand in Gurgaon, that would be a smart move.“There is no difference in any case here also (in Gurgaon — about traffic chaos, power and water supply) because of the centre of gravity in Gurgaon. But, having said that if companies from Bangalore want to expand their presence here, it is a good call,” says Pramod Bhasin, founder, Genpact, a global leader in business process and technology management.
DNA quotes Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yedyurappa: clarified that the state would do everything to encourage the IT and BT sectors. “We will hold a meeting and we will address all the issues,” said the chief minister. “We are ready to create better infrastructure to sustain the growth of IT and BT industry in Bangalore and Karnataka.” 
ASSOCHAM release: http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2919   June 5 2011