Dr Debesh Das, West Bengal's minister for information technology, was in the United States last month, seeking to attract American entrepreneurs and investors, especially in the high-tech industry, to come to the Communist-ruled state to set up shop.
Dr Das, an electrical engineer with a PhD in semiconductor chip design methodology, said West Bengal today offers the best advantage to investors both in terms of cost-effectiveness and talent pool. In recent years West Bengal has attracted major companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, ITC Infotech, Computer Associates, Siemens, IBM and Wipro, among others. But the minister said he wants to go further ahead attracting companies who would invest in chip design and would make hardware.
"We want companies that can add value," Dr Das said in a brief interview.
It's not very often that West Bengal government ministers come to the United States. What prompted this visit?
My idea was to attempt to see if we can get some of the high-tech companies/ industries here to come to West Bengal, companies that can add value. In Silicon Valley, where I made a presentation on West Bengal at TiECon 2008, I met with (representatives) of some such companies and many of them gave a very positive response to my invitation.
Text: Suman Guha Mozumder in New York
Image: Dr Debesh Das, West Bengal's Minister for Information Technology.
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