Kolkata ahead in IT race, says Gautama

Compared to cities like Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, Kolkata is much ahead in competitivess as far as information technology is concerned, state IT department principal secretary G.D. Gautama said today.

The city offered advantages like cheap and skilled manpower, low attrition rate, good quality power supply and a huge reservoir of talent in comparison to other IT hotspots, he said at a seminar here.

More than 40,000 people were employed in the IT and ITeS sectors in Kolkata, he said, adding that 235 companies were operating from West Bengal.

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Several IT companies like Infosys, Gautama said, were showing interest in the state.

He said that the Kolkata chapter of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore would be opened shortly. He added that the per capita expenditure on education in West Bengal was the highest in the country.