IT in Bangalore still hot and happening

Around 198 new companies started operations in Karnataka in 2004-05

Despite its inherent infrastructure hurdles, Bangalore still remains a hot
destination for IT. According to the STPI, 198 new compa-nies set up shop in
Bangalore in 2004-05 compared to 168 companies last year. Around 65 percent of
the 198 approved firms are foreign equity companies. The overall projected IT
investment from the approved companies is around Rs 2,783 crore.

Some of the companies that started their operations in Bangalore in this
period include Unisys Global, CapGemini, LG CNS Global, Amazon Software Develop-ment,
Elcoteq and Google. The US remains the biggest customer of the state's IT
exports with a whopping 63 percent share. Europe follows at 23 percent. One of
the noticeable trends this year is the increase in VC funded tech companies
especially in the telecom realm.

Software exports from Karnataka stood at Rs 27,600 crore in 2004-05, a 52
percent surge over the previous year's Rs 18,100 crore. Hardware exports from
the state stood at Rs 1,768 crore. Eight new hardware companies were approved in
Karnataka in 2004-05.

Secondary cities like Mysore and Mangalore are also slowly but steadily
following the path of Bangalore. Mysore for instance saw a 72 percent growth in
exports and recorded Rs 309 crore in 04-05, while Mangalore sho-wed a modest 25
per-cent growth posting Rs 567 crore exports.

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