Judge us by our acceleration, not by our speed: State IT min
Times of India | 7 February 2025
12 Kolkata: Seeking more tech investments in Bengal, state IT minister Babul Supriyo said on Thursday: "Don't judge us by our speed. Judge us by our acceleration." He was speaking at a gathering at the sectoral session at the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS).
While announcing the arrival of multiple new technology firms at the Bengal Silicon Valley, Supriyo stressed industry-related policies and the availability of land in Bengal. Supriyo said that the technology sector in Bengaluru and Hyderabad was saturated and that Bengal had the potential to be the "next tech hub" of India.
"Bengal is doing a catch-up job. We may be lagging a bit behind Bengaluru and Hyderabad. But don't judge us by our speed when compared to them. Judge us by our acceleration. Have faith in us and come here. Bengal has the right mindset, talent and infrastructure that can suit IT. The cost of living index is extremely low in Kolkata, which means less money will be spent on staff accommodation. All of that will ultimately go into company profits," Supriyo said.
CtrlS Datacenters Ltd spoke about how the company had started from Kolkata and was coming back to Bengal Silicon Valley with a bigger setup. Representatives of Iskraemeco India Pvt Ltd said the company would soon start work on a factory in New Town and complete the project in 10 months. An official of NTT Global Data Center said the company was expanding its operations in Kolkata with a second phase of its existing setup, while ST Telemedia Global Datacenter — a Singapore-based MNC — said it had a data centre in Kolkata and was on an expansion route. The company has started work on a 6-acre plot New Town, it said.
The session highlighted the transformative potential of IT and electronics in Bengal and underscored the state's commitment to fostering growth and innovation. The session commenced with a welcome address by Rajeev Kumar, additional chief secretary of the department of information technology & electronics, who highlighted the state's investments in the IT ecosystem, including the investment in a data cente in Siliguri.