The information technology department will organise an IT conclave next week to encourage investors from other states to set up units in Bihar.

At least 150 IT companies, including L&T, Oracle and Microsoft, and start-ups will participate in the two-day conclave from September 13 on the Birla Institute of Technology premises.

'The conclave will be attended by country heads or deputies of various IT companies,' said department secretary Rahul Singh on Friday.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar will deliver the keynote address at the event. Union minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi will also give a special address, highlighting Bihar's untapped potential in the IT sector.

This conclave will be the first major event organised in Bihar after chief minister Nitish Kumar quit the Grand Alliance government and joined hands with his old ally, the BJP, in July to again form an NDA government in the state.

Earlier, Union minister Ravi Shankar had spoken about the sluggish progress in Bihar's IT sector. Last year, he had written a letter to Nitish pointing at the slow pace in setting up the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology centre, software technology parks of India, common service centre and electronics manufacturing cluster - all projects that he had announced.

Nitish, on the other hand, had requested Ravi Shankar to bring in big investment in the IT sector and not confine Bihar to small BPOs.

Now, the conclave starting next Wednesday will have panel discussions with representation from different IT companies. Delegates will discuss ways to promote the IT sector.

The Bihar government has also taken three steps to make Bihar an investor-friendly destination for the IT sector. The department is developing an IT tower near the Dakbungalow roundabout in Patna, which will provide ready-to-use space to IT companies. The government also aims to set up an IT park in Bihta, around 35km southwest of Patna, on a 25-acre plot. The other ambitious project on the anvil is setting up an IT city on a 91-acre plot in Rajgir.

Sources in the IT department said all these projects will gain momentum after the conclave next week. The department had held meetings with heads of different IT companies in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Bangalore, inviting them to invest in Bihar. Secretary Rahul Singh said: 'After the conclave, the IT department will again hold roadshows in Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon and Bangalore to woo IT companies.'

The IT department will also unveil two polices related - IT & ITeS (information technology enabled services) promotion policy and electronic system design and manufacturing promotion policy - at the conclave.