Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) campus in Kalyani.
The campus will be built on 50 acres on Kalyani Expressway on the outskirts of Kalyani town.
The first batch of 54 students has already been admitted to the institute, which will offer BTech in information technology.
Classes will begin at a private engineering college in Kalyani in July.
The Rs 128-crore IIIT Kalyani project is one of the 20 IIIT projects envisaged and developed by the UPA government across the country. It is a joint venture between the HRD ministry, the state government and private enterprises.
IIIT Kalyani will be the 11th such institute in the country.
While laying the foundation stone, Banerjee said: " Agey shilanyas korey kaaj suru hoto na, aar amra agey kaaj suru korey shilanyas kori (Earlier, work would not start even after the foundation stone was laid and we start work and then lay the foundation stone)."
"We expect a boom in the IT industry and this institute will play a pivotal role in it," she said. "The state has been progressing fast in the IT sector.... At present, most government jobs are being carried out through IT."
The central public works department (CPWD) has been entrusted with constructing the academic and hostel buildings. The first phase of the project is likely to be completed by the end of May 2017.
The chief minister said Kalyani had become a symbol of development in the state. "Apart from the IIIT, the IT analytics hub and the All India Institute of Medical Science would come up in the town as well.
"With these new projects and two universities and a medical college functioning currently, people will see a wave of development in Kalyani. We have given land free for the AIIMS project.... It is a matter of pride for us."
Around 100 acres of land has been identified in Basantapur village, on the outskirts of Kalyani, where the AIIMS would come up.
The director of the institute, Ajoy Kumar Ray of the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), said: "At present 60 seats in BTech Information Technology has been offered.
"The department of IT and electronics has set up a lab with 35 high-end computers at the institute. The computer science and engineering faculty will be introduced from the 2015-16 academic session while the electronics and telecommunication engineering faculty would be introduced from the 2016-17 session."
IIEST director Ray said the Shibpur institute has been appointed as the mentor of the IIIT. It would help develop the faculty and curriculum of IIIT Kalyani, he said.
Student held
A Class VIII student of a Hooghly school was detained after he was found carrying a crude bomb in his tiffin box on Tuesday.
The headmaster of the school informed police after being alerted by other students. The boy will be produced before the juvenile justice board on Wednesday.
