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HSMC, Videocon, L&T, Airtel, Vodafone & e-Infochips Will Sign MoUs Over Rs 20,000 Cr; It Is More Than Rs 15k-cr Investments During ’07 Summit

IT’s GETTING bigger by the year. The growth story of Gujarat’s IT/ITeS industry is finally going global. More than two-dozen players, including US-based semiconductor major HSMC, Videocon, L&T, Airtel, Vodafone, Simtel, and e-Infochips among others, will sign MoUs worth more than Rs 20,000 crore in the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit on January 12 &13 — a jump from the Rs 15,000-crore investment pledged during the 2007 summit.

Both the HSMC Group and Videocon intend to invest close to Rs 5,000 crore each to set up a hardware unit and a large LCD-making unit near Ahmedabad, respectively. US-based IT player Vora Group has plans to set up an IT/ITes SEZ at an expense of more than Rs 1,000. L&T, SGV Group and Hiranandani are planning to set up IT SEZs in the state and will make investments. While SGV and Hiranandani are expected to invest Rs 1,000 crore, L&T is expected to invest around Rs 500 crore. Those who have proposed IT SEZs have already approached foreign IT firms specialising in electronics manufacturing, BPO services and assembly units to set shops in Gujarat. Official sources also informed that Singtel and L&T have shown interest in investing Rs 500 crore each. State government sources have confirmed that major global and national players have pledged investments worth more than Rs 20,000 crore in IT/ITeS and related sector in the state. “It has got bigger from the Rs 15,000-crore investment MoUs signed in the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat Summit,” said a government official close to the development. IT biggies like Microsoft, Intel and Infinium will also sign MoU with the state government in the field of IT education. While Microsoft will sign MoU worth Rs 140 crore, Infinium will pledge an investment of Rs 190 crore. Cellular Operators Association of India will also enter into MoU with the state. Sources told ET that out of delegates from 37 countries who will participate at the summit, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan will send special IT delegates to explore investment possibil ities in the state. Further, US-based IT majors like E3M Inc and Nano Work Development will send representatives to explore investment opportunities in Gujarat. Telecom majors like Vodafone and Bharti Airtel will also sign MoUs. Vodafone will set up a global centre for payment systems in Gujarat with an investment of around Rs 100 crore, sources said. Software developer Patni is also keen to invest close to Rs 100 crore to put up an IT solutions unit near Ahmedabad. There are also several emerging players who will make small investments at the Vibrant Gujarat summit. US-headquartered Varaha Systems with a R&D unit in Ahmedabad has made plans to invest Rs 15 crore in setting up an IT solutions unit near Gandhinagar.

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