PM opens Asia''s largest IT park in Chennai

CHENNAI: At a glittering ceremony, Prime Minister AB Vajpayee inaugurated the
12-storey, Rs 338-crore Tidel Park, Asia''s largest software development facility
in the heart of Chennai.

"This park will unleash the tidal wave that will take India quickly into
cyber space," Vajpayee said soon after a spectacular laser show on Tamil
Nadu''s IT achievements beamed on to the building, which is now the tallest
structure in Chennai. Besides Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, a galaxy
of five Union cabinet ministers–Pramod Mahajan (IT), Ram Vilas Paswan
(telecom), Murasoli Maran (industry & commerce), T R Balu (environment) and
Rangarajan Kumaramangalam (power) accompanied the PM.

A CD-ROM on the Tidel Park''s facilities, and the latest DQ Week Madras
special issue on Tidel Park were distributed to over 2,000 invitees at the
venue, representing the cream of Tamil Nadu''s industry.

"Similar software parks are coming up in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Pune,
Trivandrum and Mohali. These are the shining temples of the new economy,"
the PM remarked. The human race is set to accomplish major achievements in the
21st century and India''s place has to be right at the front, not in the middle,
not in the end. We have to do this. This is my government''s resolve,"
Vajpayee added.

To accomplish this, simultaneous action is needed on various fronts, he
conceded. The areas identified are: IT enabled education, telecom
infrastructure, widespread use of IT in governance and local language computing
to overcome the ''digital divide'' between the IT haves and havenots.

Vajpayee reiterated the NDA government''s commitment to corporatise the
national telecom administration by October 1, 2000. "In 5-10 years, I want
to see that Internet cafes are as ubiquitous as STD booths," the Prime
Minister said.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi observed that Tidel is going
to dominate Chennai''s skyline. He hoped that Tamil Nadu too would soon dominate
India''s IT scape in the same manner. Karunanidhi highlighted the fact that TN''s
software exports have jumped to Rs 1914 crore in 1999-2000 from just Rs 37 crore
in 1994-95. There are over 600 software units in the state now against 34 five
years ago.

Tamil Nadu was the first state to announce an IT policy and also the first to
have an IT department reporting directly to the CM, he said. Now in another
first, the TN government is financially supporting the Center-run STPI to set up
satellite earth stations in the state.

Over 80 per cent of space in the Software Park has been taken up by companies
such as Satyam and Pentasoft. Tidel Park has India''s first and the world''s third
largest thermal energy system which will maintain the temperature at 23 degree
centigrade. Besides a 2,000-line in-house telephone exchange, Tidel Park has its
own VSNL earth station and STPI connectivity for instant global access.