Govt to breathe life into BATF again

Govt to breathe life into BATF

The Times of India

BANGALORE: Chief minister N Dharam Singh said on Thursday the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) would be revived and additional thrust given to the city’s infrastructure.

Speaking to reporters here after a meeting with the Infosys trio of chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy, CEO Nandan Nilekani and CFO Mohandas Pai, Singh said: "We've discussed the infrastructure needs in the meeting. The BATF will be brought back. We will give more emphasis to infrastructure."

Murthy said he was "very happy" about the outcome of the meeting. "The government is a big entity and we are very small in front of it. The CM is very positive in his approach. Whatever help the state needs from Infosys for development, we are willing to give," he stated.

Murthy, who is also chairman of the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), said: "I'm very happy the airport has been cleared and that the government is talking of projects like the hitech city."

He deflected a query on the lack of an IT minister by stating: "The CM himself is the IT minister, he will look after all the details." Toeing the same "positive" line, Nilekani, who heads the BATF, said the details of reviving the task force would be worked out in another meeting.

The trio announced the inauguration of their 300-acre Mysore campus, which Murthy said was the world's largest corporate training centre. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the campus in February, we are also inviting the CM and deputy CM Siddaramaiah for the event," he said.

Officials said during the meeting Infosys expressed interest to invest another Rs 1,200 crore via its expansion plans in Bangalore and sought an additional 100-acre land in the government's proposed hi-tech city.