New Delhi: Infosys Ltd’s new software development campus opened at New Town in Kolkata on Wednesday. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who inaugurated the facility, said it would create 4,000 new jobs, advance innovation, and help position the state as a hub of IT excellence. She added that the state has a great talent pool, which is attracting IT firms.
Infosys said in a statement that the 320,000 sq. ft development centre was set up with an investment of more than ₹426 crore and that it can accommodate more than 4,000 employees in a hybrid working model.
Regarding the state’s efforts to make it big in the IT sector, the chief minister said that West Bengal has set up ‘Bengal Silicon Valley’, offering 200 acres of land.
“You will be happy to know there will be ₹27,000 crore investment. They will create 75,000 IT jobs. Twenty eight companies have already started work and 40 other companies have already taken land. Out of these, 11 are setting up data centres,” the chief minister said.
West Bengal has set up 22 IT parks, and almost 85% of the facilities have already been taken up, she said. Banerjee also said that plans are afoot for setting up a semiconductor production facility in the state.
A state official explained that West Bengal has the human capital needed for the IT industry. “The state has close to 45,000 engineering entry seats in all the universities put together, and this year 24,000 engineering professionals graduated, many of them trained in disciplines like AI and machine learning,” said the official, who spoke on condition of not being named.
“The inauguration of Infosys’s Kolkata Development Centre is a hallmark investment in West Bengal,” Banerjee said.
“With a strong focus on fostering talent and community collaboration, we are confident that this development centre will significantly advance innovation across the region, create employment opportunities, and position West Bengal as a hub for IT excellence in India,” said a statement from Infosys, quoting Banerjee.
