Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday exhorted IT professionals to use technological interventions for empowerment of the poor and focus on resolution of their problems at a time when India is on the cusp of change.
Inaugurating TCS Garima Park, a 10,000-seat campus developed by IT services, consulting and business solutions major Tata Consultancy Services on an area of 25.5 acre, the BJP’s Prime Ministerial nominee said no other revolution had impacted human life the way the IT revolution had, and the changes brought about by it were extremely fast that could replace an innovation within 30 days.
Tata Group Chairman Cyrus P. Mistry and N.Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD of TCS, were also present.
He also urged TCS to set up a special task force to focus on the problems of the poor and how to solve them.
Although Gujarat was a late entrant in this revolution, the recent situations created in the US by natural calamities such as hurricane Katrina were handled by IT professionals sitting in Gujarat, he said.
Modi also recalled the Gujarat Government’s achievements in areas such as e-governance that have extensively used technological interventions for the welfare of the people and how the State Government used IT in increasing its toll tax revenues by Rs 400 crore annually on the Maharashtra-Gujarat border.
The modern software development facility with a built-up area of 16 lakh sq ft is the latest addition to TCS’ global network of secure software development and delivery centres of multiple sizes to meet the needs of global clients.
TCS Garima Park 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 also uses technology to increase efficiency and reduce wastage. Solar panels, LED lighting, occupancy and light-sensitive sensors have been used to optimise power consumption.
The campus has a 250-seat amphitheatre, a modern gymnasium, tennis, badminton and basketball courts as well as a jogging track for employees in addition to a learning centre as well as iClass rooms (connected with other TCS learning hubs across the world), hi-end virtual presence conference rooms, meeting rooms and cafeterias.
The campus is an approved Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and will serve global customers across industry segments, the company said in a statement.
N. Chandrasekaran, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, TCS 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.”
'You can end corruption after 6 months'
Although he did not specify it — but left enough hints amid clapping as to what he thought of the outcome of the next Lok Sabha polls — Modi told IT professionals that they could end corruption “after six months” using technological interventions.
Waving to an aide to provide him a glass of water, Modi told the audience that he had a sore throat due to the Assembly poll campaign. “Speech and language in a poll campaign and a programme like this are different.”
During the course of his speech, the Gujarat Chief Minister told the IT professionals: “After June (2014), you would come to believe how to stamp out corruption. Kisi kaam mein chhah mahine to lagte hee hain! (Any work takes six months to complete!”
After his nomination as the BJP’s Prime Minister-in-waiting, Modi has been criss-crossing the country to campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, due in the next six months. Currently, he is busy with the Assembly polls in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where he has been addressing a number of public meetings. These polls, seen as a prelude to the main event, are due this month.