Infosys, Wipro impress U.K. Minister

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, NOV. 2. The British Minister for e-commerce, Mr. Douglas Alexander, said here on Friday that he was leaving India with the impression that ``Bangalore is a strong symbol of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry''.

Addressing the media after attending a seminar on ``Invest U.K.'', he said Bangalore IT.com, and his visits to the two IT majors with headquarters here -- Wipro and Infosys -- were the highlights of his sojourn in the City. Congratulating the Chief Minister, Mr. S.M. Krishna, on the success of IT.com, Mr. Alexander said: ``It shows we share a common global vision''.

Answering questions, Mr. Alexander said it was too early assess the real impact of the September 11 and subsequent events on the international economy, but ``the U.K. is open to business as usual, and Indian businesses still have opportunities there''. Besides the IT corporates already with a base in Britain, he had also met representatives of several medium-sized companies eager to do business with U.K. His meetings with the Union Minister for Information Technology and Communications, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, and the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ms. Sushma Swaraj, in New Delhi, also showed him that bilateral trade between the two countries, which was now $ 8 billion, would continue to grow.

The larger global trade liberalisation, which was bound to follow the next round of WTO, would provide more opportunities for growth to many countries, including India, Mr. Alexander said. Meanwhile, Britain provided an ideal ``springboard to the European market''. The U.K. would take a ``clearheaded decision'' about joining the common Euro currency, and the country had a strong economy and equal fiscal strength, he added.

Work permit system liberalised: The U.K. High Commissioner to India, Sir Rob Young, explained that the work permit system had already been liberalised to a large extent, and professionals working in Britain were allowed to change jobs from one firm to another, and stay on in that country. Nearly 7,000 students from India studied in the U.K., and their numbers were expected to increase. They too could be extended work permits after they graduated, if they had job skills. ``There are increasing opportunities for human capital from India apart from other investments,'' he said.

Addressing the seminar earlier, the U.K. minister said

Britain had a proud track record in attracting inward investment in the ICT sector. Microsoft's first overseas R&D facility outside the U.S. was in Britain, and IBM had 20,000 employees in that country engaged in manufacturing, services, and R&D. The list of Indian companies in the U.K. was also growing, topped by Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, he added.

Wipro's sprucing up campaign paid off with Mr. Alexander and Sir Rob visiting its facility on Friday. They were accompanied by Mr. David Jefferies, Chairman, Power Sector Working Group of the U.K., Mr. Michael Herriedge, Deputy British High Commissioner, Chennai, and Mr. John Rutherford, Regional Director of Invest U.K., the British Government agency promoting investment in that country.

The delegation acquainted itself with Wipro's capabilities and its development work, especially for the U.K. The Chief Executive (Operations and Staffing) of Wipro Technologies, Mr. Sudip Banerjee, made a presentation on the company's activities in the U.K.

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