Infosys ready to call on Bratya

Calcutta, July 20: Infosys, the country's second largest software services company, plans to meet Bengal's information technology minister Bratya Basu soon to urge the state government to consider its proposal for a special economic zone (SEZ) status for its Rajarhat venture, a top company official said.

"I am planning to meet the new IT minister in 15-20 days and will wait for the response and then take a call," said Ramadas Kamath, executive vice-president and head - infrastructure - at Infosys.

Kamath is in charge of the IT major's project at Rajarhat for which the company has paid Rs 75 crore to acquire the land.

"We are not asking for anything from the state government. We just want the government to recommend the SEZ proposal. Hopefully, something will happen now. It should happen here because it is happening everywhere. We got a fantastic support from the Kerala government where a Communist regime in is in power now," he told PTI.

"I am ready to meet him but on the SEZ issue, I will abide by the state's land policy," Basu told The Telegraph.

Infosys and Wipro are in possession of 50 acres of land each at Rajarhat. The IT companies were allocated the land in 2010 by the previous Left Front government at a subsidised rate along with the promise of an SEZ tag for the projects.

However, after the Trinamul Congress came to power in 2011, it declined to accord the special status that would have brought in several tax benefits to the operations.

The Infosys official said state governments had realised that employment generation and improving trade and commerce were key to survival. "We are feeling confident about Bengal as the government is making the right noises," he said.

He said the project at Rajarhat had not reached the planning stage as the SEZ status was yet to be accorded. "After getting it (SEZ status), we will start planning."

The central government has been considering winding down the financial benefits of an SEZ over a period. According to the budget of 2016, the income tax exemptions will be over by March 31, 2020.

Last year, Pravin Rao, chief operating officer of Infosys, had said the company in-principle wanted to set up something in the state and had no intention to leave.

He had also pointed out that as the IT company did not have a strong presence in the east, except in Bhubaneswar, it was eager to expand here.

Last month, Wipro's proposal to set up an SEZ at Rajarhat was deferred by the board of approval as the Bengal government did not send its recommendations.