Infosys Founder and Executive Chairman, Dr. N R Narayana Murthy said here today that only technology can alleviate poverty by reducing costs, improving response time and bringing transparency in the system. He made these observations in reply to a question by this reporter immediately after foundation stone of Infosys?s biggest campus in India having capacity of 15,000 employees was laid at Mohali in Punjab today by Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab.
Dr. Murthy who specially flew to Mohali to be present at the ceremony said that technology should be leveraged to ensure benefits of development reach poor. He agreed that there still exists a digital divide in the country with many people bereft of technology but added that answer lies in technology to improve delivery and bring transparancy.
The Punjab campus of Infosys is coming up at 50 acres of land allotted by the Punjab Government as a Special Economic Zone for setting up IT/ITES. The first phase of the project would be executed at an investment of about Rs 425 crores. It would create a built up area of 6.5 lakh sq.feet to employ 5,000 software professionals. The first phase is likely to be completed in next 36 months according to Infosys Chairman. He said that work on Punjab campus would commence from October 1 this year after necessary SEZ approval. RSP Design Consultants have designed this campus as the rating guidelines of Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment(GRIHA) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
About Infosys campus at Chandigarh, Dr. Murthy said that it has a built up area of 11.3 lakh sq feet on 30 acres and employees 6,000 employees. The company has invested Rs 332 crores on this campus and the current annual turnover from the development centre is Rs 1500 crores. In fact till January 2014, the company had already crossed a turnover of Rs 1350 from this campus.
About Punjab Government, the Infosys Founder and Executive Chairman, Dr. N.R.Narayana Murthy commented that ?the State Government of Punjab has done a commendable job in developing Mohali as an investment destination. Infosys is eager to tap into the talent poor in the region.?
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said that it was a great day for Punjab as a company of the stature of Infosys had come to the state to set up its largest campus. He disclosed that the upcoming Knowledge Park in Mohali was coming up on 1600 acres of land and 27 IT companies had been allotted land to set up their projects here.
Amidst applause he said that ?from standing in lines to online?, Punjab would be a paperless state with every work online in next one and a half year. He said Mohali was emerging as business capital of four states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir.
Immediately the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Northern Region welcomed the laying down of foundation stone of Infosys?s biggest campus in India having capacity of 15,000 employees in Mohali. ?CII is very elated as Infosys?s campus in Mohali would boost the overall economy of the region?, shared Jayant Davar, Chairman, CII Northern Region.
