Our Bureau

Bangalore , Nov 5

CONCERNS over infrastructure notwithstanding, the Karnataka Government's plans to take the IT industry to the Tier II cities such as Mangalore and Mysore have paid off. Several IT companies are close to striking a deal, with clearance being awaited from the Government before these firms can occupy land.

IT major Wipro, for instance, plans to expand its infrastructure and is looking to take up 25 acres of land in Mangalore and 100 acres of land in Mysore. While company officials were reticent on investments, Mr C.B. Raghunandan, General Manager-Logistics & Project Execution, Wipro Technologies, told Business Line that the project would witness Wipro expanding its ITES business in Mangalore.

"We evaluated the site and found that we will not be having any problems with sourcing English speaking talent pool. Plans are at first to establish our ITES business here (Mangalore)," Mr Raghunandan said.

Another leading Indian IT firm, MphasiS plans to locate its BPO facilities in Mangalore with plans to accommodate close to 3,000 people over a period of time.

First Indian Corporation (FIC) Pvt Ltd, a software firm, also plans to locate its call centre and back office operations in Mangalore on 10 acres of land, according to Mr Anoop Hegde, Country Manager, FIC. "We have 1,200 people on board now on the software services front," Mr Hegde said.

Interestingly, Merit Trac that conducted online assessment of skillsets required for the BPO industry at Bangalore IT.Com expects to place successful students at various BPO offices located in the State.

According to company officials, the BPO tests recorded 500 registrations over the five-day period of the IT symposium and of this, 5-20 per cent will qualify for recruitment into the industry.

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