West Bengal - Economy and Project Developments

[Civitas]

Another and most recent news on Infosys coming to Kolkata !!!
Why don't they go to the suburb like Kalyani or something like that. Then along with the proposal they can ask government to setup IT complex there and good road infrastructure with Kolkata etc. etc. That would be good for West Bengals's economy as well. They should not expect a price of 8 lakhs to 30 lakhs per acre in Rajarhat. This is unfair.

Anyway, here is the story:

Infosys Technologies will formalise the rollout schedule of its 100-acre software campus in Kolkata after the West Bengal government comes up with a formal proposal that defines available land options and the price of such land. This was indicated by Infosys co-founder and chief operating officer (COO) Kris Gopalakrishnan on Friday.

FULL STORY:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1822956.cms

[Suncity]

I have never understood why Infosys needs huge tracts of lands to build campus style projects in our land starved country. While it is their prerogative as to what they want to build, they should re-examine their opposition to highrise office towers.

BTW the Salim Group is in news again...

West Bengal Govt. unveils infrastructure projects
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus...0607311763.htm

The West Bengal Government today signed an agreement with a consortium led by Indonesia-based Salim group to set up the largest infrastructure project in the state on nearly 40,000 acre of land, while assuring to protect the interests of the poor and marginal farmers.

The agreement between the State Government, West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation and the New Kolkata International Development Pvt Ltd (NKID) -- a special purpose company promoted by the Salim group, the Universal Success group and Unitech -- was signed at a function in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Among other things, the agreement envisages setting up of a chemical industrial estate, a multi-product SEZ and a small and medium enterprises industrial estate, an expressway and a bridge.

While declining to quantify the investment pending preparation of the detailed project report (DPR), the Chief Minister said that Rs 4,000 crores would be spent on building the expressway connecting North 24 Parganas district with East Midnapore, including the bridge over the Hooghly between Raichak in South 24 Parganas and Kukrahati in East Midnapore.

"It is not possible to quantify the investments right now because DPRs will have to be made for each component of the projects," Industry Minister Nirupam Sen told newsmen after the signing ceremony.

He said that another Rs 3,430 crores would be pumped in for building social infrastructure and increasing land productivity.

[Suncity]

March Towards Glory
Has Kolkata emerged as the next manufacturing hub in the East?
http://www.dqindia.com/content/speci.../106060903.asp

We have reasons to believe the answer's yes! Let's look at some facts. Kolkata today has five PC brands among the 25-30 PC brands in the country. These include Amar PC, ISyn, Waves, Chirag, and Vintron after Supertron Electronic acquired the exclusive rights to market and manufacture the Vintron range of PCs.

Kolkata-based Supertron Electronics has been in the game for a long time. One of the largest distributors from the region, Supertron launched its own brand of PCs under the brand name SuperComp way back in 1997. MK Bhandari, the director of Supertron, has been in the distribution game since 1993. Branded PCs is no rocket science, of course. Bhandari was quick to realize potential and the requirement of the branded PC market. Says Bhandari, “The most important part of manufacturing branded PCs, is to source the key components.” Brand SuperComp could not make the kind of impact in the PC market that Bhandari would have liked. After Supertron acquired the Vintron range of PCs in 2004, it withdrew SuperComp PCs from the market and currently, distributes and markets PC components under the SuperComp umbrella.

Vintron had an existing market and was a far more recognized brand. Says Bhandari, “We were able to access a readymade market post acquisition.” With a turnover of Rs 145 crore, Supertron now plans to dig into deeper pockets in the North and West, where the Vintron brand has been fairing well.

Xenitis remains the biggest of them all as a brand. Though the single-largest player, in terms of size, market dominance, and branding from the East, Xenitis is more than just another regional player today. With Mera PC and Aamchi PC, Xenitis is aggressively charting a national presence for itself.
Xenitis Infotech stormed into the branded PC market with its sub-10K Amar PC brand and the rest is history. Historically, Xenitis sold PCs under a brand called Indus Computers, which was almost non-existent in the local market in terms of identity. Today, Xenitis Infotech's contribution to the group's revenue is by far the largest. While Xenitis prefers to be identified as a national player today, as far as its infotech business goes, the company has also launched its component manufacturing facility at Sugandha in the Hoogly District of West Bengal. This production facility will manufacture computer cases, keyboard, mouse, power supply, speakers, and home theatres. Xenitis plans to start monitor manufacturing very soon. Says Tathagata Dutta, MD, Xenitis, “We see huge opportunity in fundamental manufacturing for Xenitis and are looking to be a matured OEM supplier.” Although Xenitis is unwilling to put a number to the size of the opportunity, it is easier to gauge the opportunity from what Dutta has to say, “In component manufacturing, we would like to be what Infosys is today in software services.”

ISyn is today one of the other significant PC brands from Kolkata. After being in the regional market for over a year now, Milon Chakraborty, MD, SynTech Informatics, is now planning to take the ISyn brand to the national level. SynTech's experience with branded PCs started in five years back when it was the integrating partner for Samsung PCs. Says Dilip Banerjee, director, Marketing, SynTech, “At that time, Samsung had 18% of the market share in the East after HCL, which was the leading brand in this part of the region.” After Samsung pulled out of the market, SynTech partnered with leading brands such as IBM, HCL, and HP. The Samsung association was a learning experience for Chakraborty and team. The withdrawal of the Samsung brand created a huge void at the entry level and that is an opportunity that SynTech discovered. Says Milon Chakravorty, “We work with very sensitive customers and have built a relationship over the years in the lines of the experience we gathered from selling Samsung PCs.” Today, SynTech sells around 1000-1200 PCs a month in the East. SynTech is also a selected partner in the East for the government assisted PC program Gyandeep and Gyanbriddhi in association with Microsoft and Intel. Under these programs, students PCs and people's PC targeted towards students and government employees at special prices would be made available. While the full-fledged launch of the scheme is awaited, SynTech sees huge opportunity in the scheme for itself. A new production plant has come up at Aamtola in Kolkata, where the current production capacity is around 5,000 PCs a month. The capacity is likely to go up to 10,000 a month by the end of this year. SynTech is also looking to redefine service with the help of embedded applications that will solve problems by themselves. SynTech is targeting corporates starting December this year. Certain certifications required to tap the corporate sector is being awaited currently.

Chirag is the newest entrant from Kolkata region in the branded PC space. Interestingly, the biggest impact Chirag has made, is to splash Kolkata with hoardings. So the name has definitely made significant impact in terms of brand awareness. Incidentally, Chirag is an offshoot of RP Communications that is in the business of billboards. Says a competitor, who was unwilling to be named, “It's the billboard business that allows Chirag the luxury of advertising.” The fundamentals appear fairly simple: Every time there is no booking for an RP Communications billboard, a Chirag hoarding fills up the empty space and the Kolkata skyline as well. Chirag has adopted a sales strategy fairly untested as far as the industry is concerned. Unlike PC vendors, who prefer to take the channel route to distribution and sales, Chirag has gone for a complete retail sales strategy where Chirag PCs are being sold at exclusive Chirag outlets.

Waves, another small-time brand in the PC space from Kolkata, is largely focused towards the SMB space. In the PC business for the last eight years, SK Loharoka, the CEO of Waves sees more and more customers in the SOHO and SMB segment, shifting to branded PCs in the recent times, something that explains the launch of Waves PCs last year.

The local PC industry has been the hotseat for newer regional brands in the last two years. While Supertron and Waves have been around for close to a decade, it is only in the last two years that both have looked at a new strategy in the branded PC market-Supertron's acquisition of the Vintron range of PCs in 2004 and Waves rebranded itself last year with a more focused strategy. Last year also saw the launch of the ISyn brand of PCs and Chirag. And, you can't miss Xenitis, of course.

The emergence of five branded PC players in the last two years is a record of sorts. So what's fuelling the trend? One, the need to exist in the market. Says Chakraborty, “You need a brand to survive in the market. Otherwise, chances are that an MNC brand will completely wipe you out.” That's one part of the story. Loharoka sees a growing preference among customers towards branded PCs. Typically, the accountability of an assembler is far lower as compared to a vendor in the branded space and after-sales service becomes a critical issue.

Bhandari has a different take. “Entrepreneurship is growing in the State and there is a strong support from the government.” That there is strong political backing for the likes of Xenitis and SynTech, is a known fact in the industry circles of the region. The overall opportunity in terms of what the IT industry in the State has to offer has also grown significantly. In addition the growth in the SMB segment and the enterprise is also growing by leaps and bounds. There is huge corporate opportunity for IT, ITeS, telecom, and infrastructure companies. Bhandari also sees a sharp rise in indirect sales.

The Kolkata PC story is on a great high. The PC industry is clocking a growth of 35% y-o-y according to IDC reports. Sums up Loharoka, “It's a huge market, both at the regional and the national level. There's something for everyone.”

[Civitas]

Originally Posted by Suncity

I have never understood why Infosys needs huge tracts of lands to build campus style projects in our land starved country. While it is their prerogative as to what they want to build, they should re-examine their opposition to highrise office towers.

BTW the Salim Group is in news again...

West Bengal Govt. unveils infrastructure projects
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus...0607311763.htm

I totally agree. Employee per acre of land is very less for infosys. If they wish they can easily create highrises with all modern amenities they currently have, ample parking space etc. etc. But, still they waste hundreds of acres of land in our country.
I guess they plan to go to real estate business someday

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by Civitas

I guess they plan to go to real estate business someday

Maybe they are saving for the rainy days. Unfortunately if West Bengal doesn't give them the land, someone else will. The anti Left media will immediately pounce on the issue. It's damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[Suncity]

Why is Infosys buying so much land?
http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/jul/25infy.htm

Ten thousand employees work in the twin buildings for Bell South in America. More than 5,000 work in a single office complex for AT&T. Then why does Infosys need thousands of acres of land? If Wipro and IBM can work out of rented offices in Bangalore, why can't Infosys?' writes an angry blogger about Infosys.
It is not just bloggers, many people in Bangalore say they fail to understand why the software giant is acquiring land not just in Bangalore, but all over India.

Infosys is today said to be the largest owner of land among IT companies in India, and not everyone is happy about this. Last year, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda took on Infosys, levelling charges of 'land grabbing', accusing the company of doing little for Bangalore's growth as an IT hub.

So why does Infosys need so much land?

Officially, Infosys says the company believes in building its own facilities to enhance productivity and maintain a young, collegial culture for the organisation.

How many acres of land does Infosys own?

The company declined to reveal the figure, saying it is "in the silent period before the quarter results."

But rough estimates -- provided by sources at Bangalore-based builder Sobha Developers, the real development firm that is in charge of executing Infosys campuses -- indicates that the company owns hundreds of acres of land across India, where it has built, and is continuing to build, huge campuses.

"Is Infosys a real estate company or an IT firm? I fail to understand why they are greedy for land," says agitated social activist K Krishna Raghav, who supported an agitation by farmers who protested against the Karnataka government's decision to give land to Infosys reportedly at a throwaway price in Bellandur, a village on the outskirts of Bangalore.

"Why does Infosys need lots of land? Why do they need a golf course at their campus when people do not have living space in Bangalore?" asks Raghav.

Two years ago, Infosys came under attack from villagers in Bellandur who alleged that the IT major was buying wetland at rates much lower than prevailing market rates.

According to the villagers, the price of land in the Bellandur area ranged from Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million) to Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million) in 2003. But the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board agreed to sell 100 acres to Infosys at a uniform rate of Rs 9 lakh (Rs 900,000) per acre. However, it was not executed because of the controversy.

Currently, Infosys owns only 80 acres of land in Bangalore where it employs nearly 25,000 people.

But the company has applied for 845 acres of land on the outskirts of Bangalore and requested KIADB to acquire the land after securing zoning requirements from the government and complying with the law. The land is being acquired on a consent basis and after paying the market price to the landowners.

The land in Bangalore has been sought as two different plots. On one plot of land, a software development center will be set up, which will generate employment for 25,000 people.

The second plot of land is being sought, a short distance away, to provide residential facilities for our employees and to set up essential amenities like a school and a hospital. This will provide Infoscions with a better quality of life and avoid long commutes.

Both the plots will be fully utilised for the purpose of the company as per the government requirements, with a proposed investment of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion), in the first phase.

"Does Infosys need to provide more than 1,500 square feet of office space per employee?" asks Reghu Kumar, a Janata Dal-Secular politician in Bellandur. "They have built a golf course on their campus while people do not have any place to sleep in the city," said Kumar, whose party, the JD-S, rules Karnataka in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The second largest Infosys campus, after Bangalore, will be in Hyderabad. The company is building a huge campus in the city spread over 550 acres of land. Infosys already has a campus over 50 acres in Hyderabad. Early this year, the Andhra Pradesh government sold 550 acres of land to Infosys at Rs 12 lakh (Rs 1.2 million) per acre: a low price in booming Hyderabad.

Infosys officials say the company is acquiring so much land because it is strapped for space. The company these days is building an additional space of 31,76,400 square feet at various development centres across India.

So where, in India, is Infosys building space?

Bangalore: The Electronic City is the company's global headquarters. It is the world's single largest software development facility among IT services companies.

Two software development blocks of 426,000 sq ft with 4,130 seats and a Multimedia Centre of 26,000 sq ft with 110 seats have already been completed at the Bangalore centre.

In addition, a software development block of 196,000 sq ft with 2,500 seats, a food court of 61,000 sq ft, an employee care centre of 264,000 sq ft and a multi-level car park of 310,000 sq ft are under construction. The existing capacity at the Infosys Bangalore campus comprises 20,84,836 sq ft with 14,465 seats.

Pune: Last year, two software development blocks of 250,000 sq ft, with 2,400 seats, were completed in Pune. A food court of 50,000 sq ft and two software development blocks of 374,000 sq ft with 3,000 seats, are under construction.

Together, the Infosys campuses in Pune have a built-up area of 848,647 sq ft. with 5,931 seats.

Bhubaneswar: A software development block of 95,000 sq ft, with 800 seats, and an employee care centre of 100,000 sq ft, have already been completed. Currently, a software development block of 139,000 sq ft, with 1,300 seats, is under construction.

The campus has a built-up area of 384,000 sq ft with 2,000 seats.

Chennai: An employee care centre of 75,000 sq ft has been completed. Currently, the campus has a built-up area of 496,317 sq ft with 2,976 seats. For the second campus in Chennai, work is under construction for two software development blocks of 250,000 sq ft, with 2,400 seats and a food court of 50,000 sq ft.

Hyderabad: A software development block of 154,000 sq ft of 1,100 seats has been completed. Civil works are in progress for the Enterprise Solutions University, including employee care facilities, of 300,000 sq ft. Currently, the campus has a built-up area of 616,000 sq ft with 3,965 seats.

Mysore: The 441,000 sq ft Global Education Centre, capable of training 4,500 professionals at a time, an employee care centre of 110,000 sq ft, 2,350 residential rooms of 110,000 sq ft and a food court of 36,000 sq ft, have been completed.

Two software development blocks of 420,000 sq ft, with 4,200 seats, 258 residential rooms of 141,900 sq ft, a food court of 39,000 sq ft and a multiplex building of 56,000 sq ft are under completion. Currently, the campus has a built-up area of 2,206,630 sq ft with 1,734 seats and can train and house 4,500 employees.

Mangalore: Infosys is buying 25 acres of land in Mangalore for expanding. Plans to invest Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) in the Mangalore centre, which has topped in customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction among other Infosys centres.

The Mangalore centre, which celebrated its 10th anniversary, recently has grown from 20 employees in 1995 to more than 1,600 employees currently, servicing over 42 clients across the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Chandigarh: Work is in progress for a software development block of 330,000 sq ft with 3,100 seats, a food court, a health club and employee care centre of 1,74,500 sq ft.

Thiruvananthapuram: Interiors have been completed in the leased space of 22,000 sq ft, with 220 seats. Infosys has acquired 50 acres of land to build its own facility in Thiruvananthapuram.

[WillyWick]

Somehow i am not able to agree to the comments of Reghu Kumar. "Everybody is suffering , so u dont enjoy" logic sucks

"Does Infosys need to provide more than 1,500 square feet of office space per employee?" asks Reghu Kumar, a Janata Dal-Secular politician in Bellandur. "They have built a golf course on their campus while people do not have any place to sleep in the city," said Kumar, whose party, the JD-S, rules Karnataka in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

[syzygy]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

Somehow i am not able to agree to the comments of Reghu Kumar. "Everybody is suffering , so u dont enjoy" logic sucks

But note that every piece of property in a city must be used according to some plan. Suppose I buy a few acres of land in the middle of manhattan from govt for business. Then finally if I just grow cabbage in acres of left over! I am not sure how much of revenue that perticular campus golf course produce.

I have a vague feeling that when this IT business will hit a bear market all these realty will be used as a cusion. And in few daceds we will have to re structure the whole infrastructure of these places in a different way. But I guess its a sign of progressive economy, which learns from mistakes.

[WillyWick]

Nobody who could afford to buy acres of land in manhattan would have bought it with a business plan of "throwing garbage on it".

Worst Case: Even if they have a cusion (after IT hits bear market) and put it good use that will improve the economy, I be happy. That better than the govt holding these lands and putting it to improper use today.

[Civitas]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

Nobody who could afford to buy acres of land in manhattan would have bought it with a business plan of "throwing garbage on it".

Worst Case: Even if they have a cusion (after IT hits bear market) and put it good use that will improve the economy, I be happy. That better than the govt holding these lands and putting it to improper use today.

At the end of the day, thousands of acres of land is going to some private owners who is not making use of those lands most efficiently. It may sound bit socialistic, but let me clarify, I am neither a typical socialist nor a communist supporter.

But, we all should agree that India does not have luxary to waste land. Government may not utilise the land properly (atleast it has not been prudent in the past), but government can lease such land for park or industry or many different activities to other private promoters. Atleast that piece of land could be used for some public interest. It seems to be idealistic, but today only Infosys is such land hungry. Just think, if tomorrow all other big companies starts pressurising goverments for big chunk of land, can India really afford that ?

So, atleast for the easy solution, governments must not transfer the ownership of the land. It should only lease the land for specific business purpose. If tomorrow Infosys is out of business, they should return the land back to government. They should not be allowed to make profit out of that land what they once bought at one-tenth of the market price.

[cncity]

Bengal inks Rs 90,000-cr deal with Indonesian co.


Kolkata: West Bengal government’s agreement with a consortium of Indian and foreign promoters on Monday for building India’s biggest infrastructure-cum-industrial project is estimated to cost up to Rs 90,000 crore.
Indonesia’s Salim group is teaming up with India's realty major Unitech and Universal Success Group for taking up the project, to be completed over the next 15 years, sources in the know of the development said here.

New Kolkata International Development Pvt Ltd, the SPV floated by the private partners, will among other things build a chemical industrial estate spread over 10,000 acres, a multi-product SEZ on 12,500 acres and a SME industrial estate on 400 acres, besides an expressway and a bridge.

The 170-km expressway, connecting North 24 Parganas district with East Midnapore, is alone expected to cost Rs 1,700 crore and the four-lane road bridge over river Hooghly between Raichak in South 24 Parganas and Kukrahati in East Midnapore another 1,700 crore, sources said.
Besides, another Rs 3,430 crore would be spent on social infrastructure and increasing land productivity.
The consortium promoters are to pay Rs 500 crore to the state government as guarantee money within the next 45 days and also pay upfront for land acquisition. Initial investment for the project is likely to come from internal accruals, sources said.

Although the equity structure of the partners in the SPV is likely to be decided only in the next few weeks, they said that the holding would be more or less on equal keel.
The project, which when fully completed would take up 40,000 acres of land, also involves development of a residential-commercial complex on 5,000 acres in Kukrahati, a residential complex on 3,750 acres in Baruipur and a township in Bhangar, South 24 Parganas district.
New Kolkata International Development Pvt Ltd would also develop commercial blocks, including stalls, to be handed over to marginal farmers among the land losers.
Institutes to impart training to land losers would also be set up and run by the consortium for five years, besides reserve five per cent of beds in hospitals in Health City in Bhangar township for land losers and BPL families.
Five per cent of seats would also be reserved for members of families who have lost their land to the project. PTI

GREEN SIGNAL


Indonesia’s Salim group is teaming up with Unitech and Universal Success Group for taking up the project
The partners will build a chemical industrial estate spread over 10,000 acres, a multi-product SEZ on 12,500 acres and a SME industrial estate on 400 acres, besides an expressway and a bridge
Around Rs 3,430 crore would also be spent on social infrastructure. Institutes to impart training to land losers would also be set up

[WillyWick]

Originally Posted by Civitas

But, we all should agree that India does not have luxary to waste land. Government may not utilise the land properly (atleast it has not been prudent in the past), but government can lease such land for park or industry or many different activities to other private promoters. Atleast that piece of land could be used for some public interest. It seems to be idealistic, but today only Infosys is such land hungry. Just think, if tomorrow all other big companies starts pressurising goverments for big chunk of land, can India really afford that ?

Well eventually, maybe in a couple of decades thats what would happen 5% of the population will control 80% of the assets.

If tomorrow Infosys is out of business, they should return the land back to government. They should not be allowed to make profit out of that land what they once bought at one-tenth of the market price.

That would be a good clause to add...I was thinking they would have already had such type of clauses in there, not sure though.

[sudipta_rch]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

Somehow i am not able to agree to the comments of Reghu Kumar. "Everybody is suffering , so u dont enjoy" logic sucks

True..but if you want to enjoy it should not be at the expense of someone else's suffering. If infy wants large chunks of land to build golf courses, they better pay the price for it. Govts should not pay peanuts to farmers for their land and give them to Infy at low rates.

In the case of WB, if Infy is not ready to pay the price for the land in new town, they can look at cheaper options further from the airport / city center with bad roads etc. Those 100 acres in new town will definitely not remain vacant. The likes of DLF,Unitech etc would gladly set up highrise complexes that can efficiently accommodate thousands of employees. I do not see any reason why the price of land should be subsidised for Infy.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by WillyWick

Somehow i am not able to agree to the comments of Reghu Kumar. "Everybody is suffering , so u dont enjoy" logic sucks

Reghu Kumar is a politician. So he is just speaking in populist terms.

As far as Infosys is concerned, it is in the driving seat in the land deals. Most governments will try to give land to Infosys because of its reputation as a great company. The high end employment they provide and the stunning campuses are something that no government can ignore. It's a boost to a local economy to have an Infosys campus.

But Infosys too should be ready to pay market prices. It is a rich company and the money it will spend, if it buys land in New Town, will be used for development of the city only. Otherwise it should be ready to buy land in the outskirts of the city at lower prices.

In an interview, I read that highrise buildings are a taboo for Infosys. Not sure why.

Infosys does need to be flexible in its approach towards office space. In metro areas it should try building highrise towers instead of low rise campuses.

Why cannot Infosys give India some of the best skyscrapers in the world? After all it has given India some of the best office campuses and other companies have followed the trend.

Anyone in Infosys management listening?

[fred_the_cute_guy]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/106081...ry_6606211.asp

A health city spread across 70 acres and situated just outside Siliguri is on the cards.

State urban development and municipal affairs minister Asok Bhattacharya today announced this after attending a board meeting of the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority.

“It will be a health and education city spread over 70 acres,” he said. “We have found a plot adjacent to North Bengal Medical College Hospital.”

The health city, about 8 km from Siliguri, will be close to a satellite township that the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority is planning to bring up.

“We have received a number of proposals from persons attached to the health sector,” Bhattacharya said. “The Birla Heart Research Centre has expressed interest in setting up a centre here. There is also a proposal for a children’s hospital on the health city campus.”

“ There is no medical facility in north Bengal where cardiac surgeries can be done, though we have a lot of private nursing homes and government hospitals.” Bhattacharya said. “The health city should address this problem.”

The health city would also have education facilities, like courses on medicine and nursing and paramedic training.

Bhattacharya also said the government has shortlisted three areas for the Reliance Group to set up an agro-based retailing and trading unit.

[arijeetb]

Originally Posted by Suncity

Reghu Kumar is a politician. So he is just speaking in populist terms.

As far as Infosys is concerned, it is in the driving seat in the land deals. Most governments will try to give land to Infosys because of its reputation as a great company. The high end employment they provide and the stunning campuses are something that no government can ignore. It's a boost to a local economy to have an Infosys campus.

But Infosys too should be ready to pay market prices. It is a rich company and the money it will spend, if it buys land in New Town, will be used for development of the city only. Otherwise it should be ready to buy land in the outskirts of the city at lower prices.

In an interview, I read that highrise buildings are a taboo for Infosys. Not sure why.

Infosys does need to be flexible in its approach towards office space. In metro areas it should try building highrise towers instead of low rise campuses.

Why cannot Infosys give India some of the best skyscrapers in the world? After all it has given India some of the best office campuses and other companies have followed the trend.

Anyone in Infosys management listening?

No doubt the campuses of Infosys are the best in India with all the landscaping, waterbodies etc in the campuses, but again , in a space strapped country like India, companies should typically go for high rises rather than sprawling campuses.

In WB, the debate over land to Infy has been going on for a year now and Infosys is still in the negotiation mode with the govt. One reason for the 'I am in no hurry' attitude could be that the company already has a big campus in Bhuvaneshwar which is being expanded as well. It can get the required talent from middle/eastern/north-eastern india into its Bhuvaneshwar campus

Yes, as we have seen the presence of Infy is always good for the local economy, but may not be that significant from the company standpoint

[syzygy]

Originally Posted by arijeetb

No doubt the campuses of Infosys are the best in India with all the landscaping, waterbodies etc in the campuses, but again , in a space strapped country like India, companies should typically go for high rises rather than sprawling campuses.

In WB, the debate over land to Infy has been going on for a year now and Infosys is still in the negotiation mode with the govt. One reason for the 'I am in no hurry' attitude could be that the company already has a big campus in Bhuvaneshwar which is being expanded as well. It can get the required talent from middle/eastern/north-eastern india into its Bhuvaneshwar campus

Yes, as we have seen the presence of Infy is always good for the local economy, but may not be that significant from the company standpoint

I am not really sure what is the corelation between a software co and a landscaped campus ? I have always seen that they have one such. for exmaple the sipcot in chennai has xansa's wonderful building and a beautiful landscaping. Its huge , have a canal and beautiful grass and plants everywhere. Now the sipcot is not far from cherucery or airport for that matter when the MRT will be built. Then we will have an island of paradise ( for xansa ) and middle class people hoping to get a few hundred square feet for their dig near the work. I dont know what chennai will do then i am sure the population is not going to remain at the level it is at this time. Instead a building in mount road would have been welcome.

[syzygy]

the potato sales in west bengal goes online. now the farmars can trade their stocks through internet. I think that is a major development for the rural parts of the state.

According to a study by MCX, there is scope for a turnover of Rs.45 billion in potato trade annually. As the Kufri Jyoti variety is produced in abundance, it was chosen for online sale.

the full story is here.....
http://www.teluguportal.net/modules/...?storyid=10570

[Zailsingh]

I thought Kolkatta like other metros had one of the best health care services in India.here is an article which says bengalis flock to chennai for health care services.
Any particular reason ?

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ennai&Topic=0&


Chennai hospitals offer solace to Bengali patients
Thursday September 7 2006 12:33 IST
CHENNAI: It’s like a mini Bengal in the heart of the city. At Apollo Hospitals on Greams Road, 30 percent of the total out-patients and 35 percent of in-patients every month are Bengalis, seeking medical assistance in a range of departments, like cardiology, neurosurgery and oncology, among the rest.

A cacophony of women in impeccably-starched cotton sarees, speaking in rapid Bengali, with the bengali babus accompanying them, are a common sight at some of the leading hospitals and nursing homes in the city. And it has been decades that
Chennai has been a health hub for Bengalis seeking medical treatment at premier medical institutes in the city.

Why is it that people from West Bengal overlook hospitals and nursing homes in their own state and head towards Chennai? An indignant Shirish Mukherjee (name changed on request), a heart patient from Kolkata, points out, ‘‘Government hospitals
in West Bengal are doing a worthless job. And the private nursing homes are out there to mint money at the cost of patients. Hence, I decided to pay a visit to Apollo in Chennai.’’

R Gopalakrishnan, head of the department of Orthopaedics, Apollo Hospitals, says, ‘‘The Bengalis believe in perfection in all avenues of life. They come to Apollo because of the perfection in health care.’’

Similar is the scene at Sankara Nethralaya, one of the prime eye hospitals in the country. Sources in the Patient Relations department at the hospital say, ‘‘Even for simple cataract operations and eye checkups, Bengalis come here.’’
A common feature among all the major hospitals here is a special group of Bengali staff to cater to their needs.

The Patient Relations department claims that the information cell which the hospital has arranged at Central Railway Station is aimed at catering to the needs of the plethora of patients who arrive in town aboard the Coromandel Express
from Kolkata.

On a visit to MV Diabetes Specialities Centre, you can see a lot of Bengali patients queuing up at the reception. Sivaranjani, secretary to the general manager, says, ‘‘To cater to the innumerable Bengali patients who come to us, we have trained our staff to interact with the patients in Bengali.’’

Along the length of Greams Road, one can observe a number of medical shops with Bengali name boards. Shanil of Sri Krishna Medicals explains, ‘‘Our shop is inundated with prescriptions from Bengali patients. There are patients who stay in the city for six months. In fact, there are Bengalis from Assam, Bangladesh and the Gulf countries who are patients at the Apollo.’’

The shop also has a Bengali newspaper kiosk that sells leading dailies from Kolkata, like Anandabazaar and Pratidin. Though the charges per copy are automatically hiked, the shop sells more than 400 copies a day.

To provide accommodation at nominal rates for the Bengalis, Baquer Iqbal, proprietor of New Bengal Mess on Greams Road, informs that there are a host of lodges and messes tucked away at a corner of Greams Road, that cater to the middle-class communities. According to Iqbal, who also has a travel business, when the patients are completely cured, they head to pilgrimage places in the state and other nearby places.

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by Zailsingh

I thought Kolkatta like other metros had one of the best health care services in India.here is an article which says bengalis flock to chennai for health care services.
Any particular reason ?

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems...ennai&Topic=0&
Chennai hospitals offer solace to Bengali patients

As the article says Government hospitals in West Bengal are usually hopeless. There are more unionized staff than doctors and nurses in the government hospitals.The Government has simply given up despite its so called "pro poor" slogans. In fact it is inviting the private sector to build hospitals (contrast this with the opposition to privatization of airports). There were also just a few private hospitals which were seen as minting money but not providing quality services.

For medical treatment, Chennai has been the city of choice for many Bengalis (who can afford the expenses) because Chennai hospitals and doctors are considered more competent and efficient. It's been like that for a long time now and people who have come back from treatment there have spread the good word about Chennai. Other popular destinations are Vellore, Pondicherry, AIIMS - Delhi and Tata - Mumbai.

Things are however slowly changing in Kolkata. Apollo has already come in and so has Sankara Nethralaya. Several other private sector hospitals have opened. I have heard people say that the Apollo in Kolkata is good but the "real" thing is in Chennai. So even if they get good treatment in Kolkata, there is always this dilemma that maybe they would have had better treatment in Chennai.

The new hospitals in Kolkata will need time to build a positive reputation. Chennai already has built an excellent reputation over the last few decades.