Tuesday, January 18 2005 12:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Moscow: Close on the heels of his visit to India's Silicon Valley - Bangalore - Russian President Vladimir Putin has cleared a comprehensive programme to boost the IT sector in the country with the aim of becoming the world's information technology leader by 2010 and raise its share in the nation's GDP to five per cent.

The programme is aimed at creating a network of Silicon Valley-type centers in Russia or "Russian Bangalores" for making the country a leader in the global market for high technologies, state TV network "Rossia" said in its weekly analysis "Vesti Nedely" on Sunday (Jan 16, 2005).

The network was commenting on President Putin's meeting with top scientists and experts in Novosibirsk on January 11.

Several technoparks are to be set up in various regions of Russia with highly qualified scientific cadre, including Dubna near Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk.

They would be granted special economic zone status, The 2010 programme will help support high technology companies' efforts to gain access to the global market, remove administrative barriers and step up the drafting of new intellectual property laws to encourage investments in Russia's information technology sector.

Putin underscored that Russia would bank on national as well as foreign experience, including India's, in promoting the IT sector.

A total of 18 billion Roubles (Over $ 600 million) would be invested by the Government in the programme in 2005-2010 according to IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman, the network said.

Minister Reiman personally played a great role in persuading Putin to add Bangalore in his India visit itinerary December last year, it added.

Putin had visited Indian IT major Infosys during his visit to the city.

The Russian "Bangalores" are expected to begin their operations in 2006-2007.