Reliance Jio, Infosys to set up projects in Bengal's proposed 'Silicon Valley' hub

Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Monday announced the creation of a silicon valley hub at New Town near the metropolis, where companies like Reliance Jio and Infosys Ltd will set up projects. The foundation stone of the Bengal Silicon Valley Hub, to come up on 100 acres was laid by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee said West Bengal was an industry and technology-friendly state, with “one of the least attrition rates”, along with low operational costs. State Chief Secretary Moloy De said that following Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s announcement at the last Bengal Global Business Summit, Reliance Jio would set up a data centre on 40 acres within the hub. [caption id=“attachment_3789417” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] Meanwhile, IT giant Infosys Ltd said it has commenced work on a new software development center inside the hub. As part of the project, spread over 50 acres, Infosys will invest around Rs 100 crore in the first phase of construction, which will “create employment for 1,000 engineers initially,” the statement said. The first phase of the project will be completed within 15 months from the date of obtaining all statutory clearances, it said. The West Bengal government has also collaborated with Amazon Internet Service and FujiSoft for high-end IT solutions, State Finance Minister Amit Mitra said. Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh added that an international summit on SMEs would be held for the first time in India at Kolkata in January, which would be attended by around 2,000 delegates. (Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd)