Although West Bengal was “investor friendly”, land acquisition was still an issue, West Bengal Governor M. K. Narayanan said on Thursday. However, the issue was being “looked into by the Government”, Narayanan told reporters on the sidelines of Infocom 2012 – an annual IT summit and conference – organised here.
He, however, refused to go into details on the initiatives being taken by the State in resolving the issue.
Industry captains in the State have often raised the issues of problem in land acquisition and questioned the Government’s hands-off policy in this regard. The State Government has already made it clear that private companies will have to purchase land on their own if they decide to set up manufacturing units in the State.
However, the State is willing to grant concession under Sec 14Y of the Land Reforms Act in case the industrialist holds land above the permissible ceiling limit of 24 acres in rural areas.
IT, security issues
Meanwhile, interacting with major IT-players, Narayanan added that although IT-enabled services have created a boom in the country; India is fast losing its competitiveness to other Asian nations. Moreover, the absence of research and development is also hampering its growth.
“Indian IT is not without its blemishes. We are now being overtaken by other countries … (and) is facing serious issues of competitiveness from other Asian countries,” he said during the inauguration of Infocom.
Pointing out that while the Internet and subsequent IT revolution in the country has opened up huge avenues, the subsequent threats of cyber attacks and security issues cannot be overlooked.
“The internet is not just a blessing. With it there is the possibility of cyber espionage, cyber spying and hacking … and a grave risk of disruption,” Narayanan said.
According to him, there is a critical requirement for securing operating systems and although there are monitoring agencies, he felt that it was not possible to take care of all round cyber attacks.
“However, this does not mean we limit the possibilities that the Internet has opened up for us,” the Governor said.