Kolkata: The West Bengal Government will vigorously market four new IT destinations in the State where Software Technology Parks have either been set up or proposed to create virgin business hubs outside the capital city for major players in the sector.

West Bengal IT Minister Manab Mukherjee told reporters in Kolkata today (Sep 18, 2004) that two STPIs would be inaugurated in Durgapur and Kharagpur on October seven and eight respectively while two more have been sanctioned by the Centre for Siliguri and Haldia.

"With the new STPIs all set to create new IT hubs, we will now begin marketing them and try to get big industries in the sector to set shop here," he said.

Mukherjee said after coming very close to attaining critical mass, the next step for the Government was to spread IT outside the capital city and the STPIs were the first step in this direction.

The Siliguri and Haldia STPIs would be set up on over three acres and the primary survey for them would be taken up in November, he added.

The minister said a slew of new IT and ITES projects would soon come to West Bengal with Microsoft, Reliance, GE Capital and Global Vantage keen on setting up shop in Kolkata while HCL, NIIT and Spectramind propose to go on an expansion drive.

"During a road show in Delhi recently, Microsoft disclosed that they had short listed Kolkata as one of the potential destinations for their second development centre after Hyderabad in the country. The proposed centre would have a teachers training component, a centre of excellence and a school education component," he said.