Webel (West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Limited), a state-run undertaking, is all set to open its first data centre in north Bengal, in Siliguri.
As of now, it runs two similar centres which act as storages of digital data in Calcutta and Purulia.
Sources said that the upcoming data centre, for which a sum of around ₹98 crore has been spent, was supposed to open in December last year but got delayed due to certain technical issues. However, it is likely to open in a few weeks.
"The centre will be fully functional once the internet connectivity is set up. It will have a computing power of 160 petaflops. The state government will allow startups and IT companies to use this infrastructure for free or at a nominal cost,” said Sanjay Kumar Das, who retired as managing director of Webel a few days ago, but was in charge of the project since inception.
Sumant Sahay has since assumed the post of Webel MD.
Petaflop is a unit used to measure a computer’s speed.
While elaborating on the centre, Das said that in the IT sector, whenever the state comes up with infrastructure, private companies see it as a sign of potential growth and invest in similar facilities.
“We hope this project encourages major global players and tech giants to explore north Bengal as a destination for their own data storage and cloud computing needs. This will eventually lead to the generation of employment in the region,” he added.
Ranadeep Bhattacharya, chairman of the IT and Education panel of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), north Bengal, said the centre will help startups and other IT companies to store and process their data.
“Also, the state government will utilise this facility to store its data more securely,” he said.
In north Bengal, the growth of the IT sector has been relatively slow compared to some other parts of the state.
However, Das said that Siliguri, for a long time, had been recognised as a strategic location due to its geographical connectivity and economic potential.
"The new data centre will provide storage solutions and create ways for new job opportunities and IT investments here,” he added.