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Hardware capital of India
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Chennai is termed as the Detroit of India, the nearby Pondicherry can safely be equated with Taiwan.It has assumed the stature of being the hardware capital of India.
All the major computer hardware manufacturers like HCL Infosystems, Wipro, Acer India,IBM, Samtel India, Proview Infotech, Nexus Computers, Hewlett Packard, Accel ICIM have their manufacturing or assembling facility in this union territory. In addition, there are around 60 small-scale players dotting the industrial map of Pondicherry.
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Hi-tech Companies
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Other hi-tech players like Sharon Global Solutions (smart and ATM card manufacturer), ARM Ltd (makers of telecom masts and towers) and NCR (ATM maker) are also heading towards Pondicherry. Existing players like Acer India and HCL Infosystems are on an expansion mode.
Now, HCL Infosystems is planning to manufacture components like cabinets, printed circuit boards, motherboards and memories at an outlay of Rs 12 crore.As on date the total value of hardware production in Pondicherry is Rs 2,810.44 crore.
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What attracts manufacturers?
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The first thing that the manufacturers point out is the investor-friendly attitude of the government officials. Investors also enjoy the benefits of low cost of living that is the hallmark of a small town as well as abundance of skills that is available in a large city.
The investors also enjoy the sales tax concessions and five-year income tax holidays that Pondicherry offers them. HCL Infosystems shifted one of its plants from Chennai to Pondicherry just to take advantage of tax benefits. Moreover, the Chennai Port is nearby and with the laying of East Coast road, travel between the two places has become far easier now.
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Some Negatives
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Pondicherry lacks in basic infrastructure such as ports, both sea and air, and good roads. Both the ports are nearly non-functional today. Hardly one or two ships call on the port to carry molasses for the Pondicherry distilleries. The union territory also lacks proper telecom connectivity and recreation facilities to lure software companies. This, coupled with lack of functional airport, makes Pondicherry unattractive for top executives to reside here.
The state administration is gearing up its act to sort out the glitches related to the infrastructure. The Software Technology Park of India has decided to set up an earth station in Pondicherry that will sort out the telecom connectivity problem.
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Steps taken to improve
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The government is planning to acquire ITDC’s Asoka Hotel and build an amusement and theme park on the 65-acre plot allotted to the hotel.Now the government is concentrating to improve the infrastructure of the state and attract software company's to invest here.
In order to make Pondicherry an attractive, live-in city for top business executives, the government is also planning to build an integrated housing colony on 30 acres at Kalapet. The government is also trying to convince the union civil aviation ministry to extend the airport runway so that larger aircraft can land and take off and Pondicherry is connected by air to major cities.
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60% hardware manufacturer
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According to the survey pondicherry computer hardware industries producing 60% of hardware in the whole 100% of country's production.Even many company's extending their unit in pondicherry to invest more.
Wipro, HCL infosystems ,IBM etc are the major investors in hardware industry in pondicherry.
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