Bhubaneswar, Dec. 21: Software major Wipro today signed a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa government to set up a software development and BPO services centre here.
The centre is expected to employ around 1,500 people. It will be set up on a 30-acre plot of land at Infocity, an information technology complex on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
The MoU was signed between chief information officer and vice-president (corporate) of Wipro Technologies, Tamal Dasgupta and Orissa IT secretary Ashok Tripathy here this afternoon.
The MoU is a sequel to the visit of the Wipro team that had done a recce of the state in September after the Naveen Patnaik government requested company chairman Azim Premji to send a delegation to explore the possibility of setting up a software development centre. During its visit, the Wipro team headed by Dasgupta had also visited several engineering institutes in the state.
Work on the first phase of the centre comprising at least one unit with a capacity of 1,000-1,500 people would start next year. It would be completed in two years. The development centre would entail an investment of Rs 150-200 crore.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Dasgupta said the talent available in the state impressed him a lot. ?There is absolutely no doubt that Bhubaneswar has one of the best IT talent pools. The state government is also very enthusiastic,? he added. The state would provide land to Wipro at Rs 12 lakh per acre.
Wipro has also asked the government to take up the issue of a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Bangalore with the Centre. Terming the lack of air connectivity as a minor hitch, Dasgupta hoped that it would not be long before the company started its operations in Orissa.
In the transit period, the company would have its commercial production set-up at Fortune Towers, an IT centre set up by the government with plug and play facility.
Tata Consultancy Services earlier signed an MoU with the government to set up a IT development and IT-enabled services centre at Infocity. It would employ 1,000 software professionals in the first phase. Software giants Infosys and Satyam have already announced their plans to enhance operations at their respective software development centres in Orissa.
