Silicon Valley of India

Silicon Valley of India

The Silicon Valley of India is a nickname of the Indian city of Bangalore. The name signifies Bangalore's status as a hub for information technology (IT) companies in India and is a comparative reference to the original Silicon Valley, based around Santa Clara Valley, California, a major hub for IT companies in the United States. One of earliest mentions of this sobriquet occurred in late 1980s in the "Indian Express".The Indian Express (Bangalore Edition). 6 Nov. 1988] The more prevalent application of the nickname Bangalore began in the 1990sHeitzman, James. [http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/503/503%20james%20heitzman.htm "Becoming silicon valley"] . India-seminar.com. 2001] based on a concentration of firms specialising in Research and Development (R&D), electronics and software production.

History

The Electronics City was the brainchild of R. K. Baliga. He was the first Chairman and Managing Director of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation (in the 1976 the government agency was created to expanding the electronics industry in the state of Karnataka). Baliga proposed the concept of developing the electronic city in the 1970s. The agency purchased convert|335|acre|km2 of land 18 km south of Bangalore for its Electronics City project, which was meant to establish an industrial park in Bangalore. Notwithstanding complaints by the industrial park's tenants on the condition of the roads, power and water availability, KEONICS claimed initially that the title of "Silicon Valley of India" belonged to the city's Electronics City campus. As part of its promotion of this concept, KEONICS distributed reprints of an article entitled "Can Bangalore become India's Silicon Valley" that first appeared in "Plus: The Total Computer Magazine".

The article made references to studies of Bangalore published by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that favourably evaluated Bangalore's capacity to grow into a high technology hub, similar to the Silicon Valley. The publication also published interviews with IT industry professionals on the state of the IT industry in Bangalore and their perceptions of what lay ahead in the future. Selected quotes from the interviews included:

If the Centre looks at Bangalore to be made into Silicon Valley, it would certainly become the Silicon Valley; If you are talking of a Silicon Valley kind of atmosphere, then Bangalore already has it, but if you are talking of a product a day, then we are far from it; Bangalore is certainly emerging as a software and R&D subcontracting centre for multinationals; It is not an unreasonable comparison to make between Bangalore city and Silicon Valley; Bangalore has the ingredients to become Silicon Valley... It is probably the only city in India that could become one.

The turn of the millennium witnessed the growth of Internet based technologies which resulted in the dotcom boom. Bangalore's IT industry grew during this period with the establishment of local and foreign IT companies. In 2001, "BusinessWeek" published an article entitled "India's Silicon Valley" which traced the growth of the IT industry in India and particularly in Bangalore. The use of the term "Silicon Valley of India" to refer to Bangalore grew in local media and as time progressed, in international media too. An article entitled "Is the Next Silicon Valley Taking Root in Bangalore?" appeared in the "New York Times" in 2006Rai, Saritha. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/business/worldbusiness/20bangalore.html?ex=1300510800&en=993a11e65908ab91&ei=5088 "Is the Next Silicon Valley Taking Root in Bangalore?"] . The New York Times. 20 Mar. 2006] Indeed, some articles in the western media wondered if the original Silicon Valley would one day be functionally replaced by BangaloreMorphy, Erika. [http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Bangalore-Besting-Silicon-Valley-&story_id=26088 "Bangalore Besting Silicon Valley?"] . 29 Jul. 2004]

Criticism

Bangalore is located on a plateau and not in a valley; thus the use of the term in reference to Bangalore is not truly toponymous. Shashi Tharoor suggests the term "Silicon Plateau" [ [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/11/10/stories/2002111000620300.htm Article in The Hindu] ] since Bangalore is on the Deccan Plateau.

References

See also

*Zhongguancun, the "Silicon Valley of China"
*Silicon Gulf, the "Silicon Valley of the Philippines"


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition — The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), is a San Jose, California based research and advocacy group that promotes safe environmental practices in the high tech industry. The organization was founded in 1982 after leaks at manufacturing sites… …   Wikipedia

  • Silicon Valley — the area in northern California, southwest of San Francisco in the Santa Clara valley region, where many of the high technology design and manufacturing companies in the semiconductor industry are concentrated. [so called from the silicon wafers… …   Universalium

  • Silicon Gulf — Davao Region is one of the regions of the Philippines, located on the southeastern portion of Mindanao. Davao Region consists of four provinces, namely: Compostela Valley, Davao, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. The region encloses the Davao… …   Wikipedia

  • Silicon — Not to be confused with the silicon containing synthetic polymer silicone. aluminium ← silicon → phosphorus C ↑ Si ↓ Ge …   Wikipedia

  • Valley — In geology, a valley (also called a vale, dale, glen or strath and near or in Appalachia, a draw) is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge. The terms U shaped and V shaped… …   Wikipedia

  • List of places with "Silicon" names — The following is a list of places with Silicon names, that is, places whose names were (or seemed to be) inspired by the Silicon Valley nickname given to part of the San Francisco Bay Area:* Brazilian Silicon Valley Campinas, Brazil * Cwm Silicon …   Wikipedia

  • Information technology in India — This article is about IT in India. For an overview of modern science and technology in India, see Science and technology in the Republic of India. Also see Communications in India for further information. The Indian Information Technology… …   Wikipedia

  • Economy of South India — The Economy of South India is largely agrarian, dependent on monsoons, as are most people in India. Some of the main crops cultivated in South India include rice, sorghum, and ragi . South India was and still is the promised land as far as spice… …   Wikipedia

  • Business process outsourcing in India — The business process outsourcing industry in India refers to the business process outsourcing services in the outsourcing industry in India, catering mainly to Western operations of multinational corporations (MNCs). As of 2008, around 0.7… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Republic of India — Part of a series on the History of Modern India Pre Independence …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”