MYSORE JUNE 14. Experts from the Information Technology (IT) industry here formed a Mysore IT Forum recently with a view to promoting the industry.

The forum was formed under the stewardship of the SJCE-STEP Director, M.N. Shivaram. Chief executive officers of leading software companies in Mysore, besides the General Manager of Mysore Telecom District, Farooq Ameen, and officers in charge of the Software Technology Park of India (STPI), Mysore, are members of the forum.

Prof. Shivaram told The Hindu that the purpose of forming the forum was to have a network of IT professionals in order to help each other, expand software business, and coordinate with government agencies to improve infrastructure for the growth of the industry.

The forum was working on short-term and long-term programmes for the promotion of the industry. Members of the forum would meet on Saturday, he added.

Formation of the forum assumes significance in the wake of Mysore's potential to emerge as an alternative IT destination in the State. Though Mysore is located close to the country's silicon valley, Bangalore, the growth of the IT industry here depends on the development of infrastructure.

Experts in the industry said that an expressway linking Mysore with Bangalore, an airport, and doubling of the railway track between the two cities were yet to be implemented by the Government. If these projects were implemented, the hopes for Mysore emerging as an alternative IT destination could be realised.

The Minister of State for Information Technology, B.K. Chandrashekar, during his recent visit to Mysore admitted that the absence of an air-link was proving to be a hurdle for the growth of the software industry in the city. He promised to take steps in the direction of starting short-haul commercial flights by private airliners.

The software industry in Mysore registered a substantial growth in the past few years. The companies exported software worth Rs .80 lakh during 1998-99. The number of companies increased from 14 to 27 in the past three years, while exports touched Rs. 30 crore. Despite the slowdown, the industry in Mysore achieved a 33-per cent growth last year by netting exports worth Rs. 39 crore. However, it failed to reach the export target of Rs. 60 crore. The year also saw the closure of at least seven companies, bringing down their number from 27 to 20.

Sources in STPI said the IT industry in Mysore showed positive signs of picking up during the first quarter of 2002. "The first quarter has been extremely good," said an STPI officer who signs export certificates.

He said with the world economy showing signs of improvement, European clients of Mysore-based software companies had resumed offering software contracts.

Meanwhile, the forum, which seeks to engage the Government in developing IT industry in Mysore, has plans to convert the Rs. 39-crore software business into a Rs. 300-crore entity by 2005, and to encourage the entrepreneurial growth by enhancing value-added economic activity in the region.

The forum proposes to sustain a 100 per cent growth every year in the software industry. It also has plans to increase the number of companies from 20 to 50 by 2005, besides increasing the number of employees from 400 to 1,200.

Experts said Mysore could be preferred as an alternative or a primary IT destination for many reasons. The quality of life in Mysore was better than Bangalore where the traffic density was high. House rents and real estate were reasonable in Mysore.

The presence of a large number of educational institutions, including engineering colleges, poly-techniques and ITIs, in Mysore provided a perfect setting for starting "knowledge-based" industries.

The IT industry was highly dependent on technical skills, intellectual calibre, and educational quality of the employees, which could not be found everywhere.

The arrival of IT giants such as Infosys to Mysore would help check the "flight of talent" from the city to other places.

On completion of education, students invariably moved to big cities in search of jobs. The trend could be arrested if the skilled manpower was provided an opportunity in Mysore itself, they said.