Tier II, III cities should attract knowledge sector: Accenture chief

Tier II and tier III cities in India should wake up to the demands of the knowledge industry by providing appropriate infrastructure and an enabling environment for growth, said Avinash Vashistha, chairman and managing director, Accenture India.

Vashistha was addressing the fourth Girem leadership summit, a forum for urban planning and corporate real estate, in Goa. The theme for the summit, organised by Girem (Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management) was 'Winning the decade.'

''Talent and technology are going to drive India's knowledge industry and it is essential that an enabling environment and synergy should be harnessed among the planners, stakeholders and implementers of projects,'' said Vashistha. ''India should catch up with the developed world with respect to the service sector; it's contribution to the GDP should go up from 50 per cent to 80 per cent.''

Making a presentation on Haryana, Sudhir Ragpal, municipal commissioner, Gurgaon, said the state government had taken steps to provide both short- and long-term solutions to connectivity. This includes the development of a 16-lane elevated highway at a cost of Rs600 crore on a public-private partnership basis.

The Haryana government was looking at developing surrounding areas of Gurgaon including Manesar, he added. ''Apart from roads and connectivity issues, the government will also motivate investors to develop educational institutions to meet the talent requirement for industry,'' said the civic chief of Gurgaon. ''The Haryana government is also actively looking at developing a local metro loop in and around Gurgaon to alleviate the commuting problems of employees and residents.''

Ragpal also sought the help of IT companies in solving the transport problem in Gurgaon and complement the efforts of the civic body by running buses through the city.