Modi inaugurates 10,000-seater TCS campus, taunts PM over corruption

Gandhinagar: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday appealed to IT technocrats to work for technological interventions that can change the life of the poor and lead every sector of society towards progress.

"Information technology should be used to its maximum potential and common man should be empowered by using technological interventions," Modi said after inaugurating the country's largest software firm's state-of-the-art TCS' Garmia Park campus here. It is a 10,000-seater campus.

"There is a myth that IT is for rich people only. Technological intervention can change the life of poor and more and more technology can be used to upgrade the life of poor people," Modi said.

Modi, also the prime ministerial candidate for BJP, cited the example of his home state, saying computerisation of the PDS system is yielding better service to the poor people.

He also mentioned about his 'Swagat' online programme in which any person from anywhere in Gujarat can complain to the chief minister regarding the grievances faced by them.

"Prime Minister may be able to remove corruption or not, but you can do it," Modi told the young IT experts of TCS. He said the Gujarat check-post at the border with Maharashtra is earning Rs 400 crore more per year than the one in the neighbouring state despite the fact that same number of vehicles pass through both the check posts.

"We have technological supervision of our check-posts and they do not have it. Government sitting in Gandhiangar, can monitor flow of vehicles and tax collected so the collection on our side is high. This is not done by any chief minister but has been made possible by young IT professionals,' Modi said.

Developed in over 25.5 acres of land with a built-up area of 1.6 million square feet, the Garmia park is the latest addition to the company's global network of software development and delivery centres, he said.

"This will go a long way in dispelling the myth that in Gujarat IT industries are not developed," Modi said.

Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry said, "10,000 IT professionals will get jobs at the newly-built TCS Garima Park here". He said Tata Group had long standing relationship with Gujarat with presence of various group companies in the state.

"TCS has played a pioneering role to make Gujarat an attractive IT destination for global companies and also helped drive technology-led growth by investing in talented youth of the state," TCS CEO and MD N. Chandrasekaran said.

"We are delighted to launch our new world-class campus in Gandhinagar. This will help TCS further scale up its presence and drive the expansion of the IT industry in Gujarat," he added. 

The software development facility has been developed over 25.5 acres, with a built-up area of 1.6 million sq ft, TCS said in a statement.

The new centre has been developed as a 'green' campus and has applied for a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold rating.

Built with locally sourced red stone, the campus will use solar panels, LED lighting, occupancy and light-sensitive sensors to optimise power consumption.

The campus, which also features a learning centre and iClass rooms (connected with other TCS learning hubs globally), is located in an approved Special Economic Zone and will serve global customers across industry segments.