Abstract:
Despite the uniform applicability of New Economic Policy (1991) for all Indian states, ICT industry has remained concentrated in a few cities. Even fifteen years after the economic reform, ICT companies still prefer cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, and Mumbai. These are not necessarily the places where traditional business communities were located. Besides, it is understandable that clustering is of little significance for companies in this industry, as it is more dependent on virtual movement of data in the cyberspace, than on physical movement of commodities (with the exception of computer hardware industry, which has negligence presence in India). What then explains the concentration of companies in ICT industry in a few cities? With special reference to the development of ICT industry in Bangalore, this paper examines the role of policies pertaining to infrastructure development, promotional campaigns and human resource development as an explanation. It would be pertinent to point out here that the word 'policy' would be used in a broad sense to include all relevant governmental strategies, whether stated or not.
