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It is a common Indian practice to associate cities with individuals. And the more famous and more number of celebrities a city can boast, the more its snob value. Going by this logic, Baroda, or Vadodara, should be termed as the cradle of Indian IT and telecom, as two of its denizens single handedly changed the face of the Indian industry. The first, Dewang Mehta (born in Umreth, on the border with Anand district), the late president of Nasscom. And Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda or Sam Pitroda, as hes popularly known, who found his bearings in Vadodara while pursuing his Masters in Physics and Electronics from Maharaja Sayajirao University. The current chairman of the Knowledge Commission and the CEO of C-SAM, he is hailed as the father of the PCO and the precursor to the telecom revolution.

Yet, the city of Vadodara has largely been untouched by the magic of technology. While the government over the years has actively promoted Surat, Ahemadabad and Gandhinagar; Vadodara has been ignored.

Industrial Behemoth
It is quite baffling, considering that the city was at the very forefront of the industrial revolution at the turn of the twentieth century. The first modern factory (Alembic Pharmaceuticals) was established in Vadodara in 1907 and subsequently companies like Sarabhai Chemicals and Jyoti came up in the 1940s. Over the years, Vadodara became a hub for the chemicals and textile industry.

Nyay Mandir (High Court)

In the late sixties, oil and gas companies made a beeline for Vadodara. Suddenly, Vadodara was host to companies like the Gujarat Refinery and the Indian Oil Corporation. Discovery of oil and gas in Ankleshwar led to rapid development of the city. Even ONGC and GAIL set up there centers in the outskirts, followed by many oil and gas, fertilizers, and chemical majors coming in. By the eighties, the city was brimming with activity, and there was a vibrant SMB sector.

That was before the recession set in. In the nineties, the situation was so bad that many SMBs had to shut shop or ship out. That was quite the case till the Modi government came to power.

From Industry to IT
The tide might be turning, at least there are some signs that it could. The pharma and oil majors have driven much of the IT adoption in Vadodara, but much of this equipment is sourced directly from the computer vendors (ONGC extensively uses Silicon Graphic machines), thus the local channel community is not really benefited. Of course, the servicing and the peripherals industry is flourishing.

Many companies are now keen to exploit the vast talent pool that is available in the city. In a recent report released by CII, "Vadodara: Knowledge City", stated that the city is attracting a large number of investors to create infrastructure for IT and related companies. "Vadodara has great potential to develop as an IT hub on account of its large English-speaking population and low cost of living. There are at least three IT parks coming up in the Vadodara district. We are also considering offering land to Gujarat Communications & Electronics, and another 17 acre of the defunct Priyalakshmi Mill in the heart of the city," said Raj Kumar, secretary, department of science & technology, Government of Gujarat and MD of Gujarat Informatics.

While L&T plans to come up with an IT zone near Vadodara, many more IT parks are also in the offing: Nipium Infotech is planning an IT park in association with the Singapore government at the cost of around Rs 500 crore and is waiting for an approval. There have also been reports that HCL intends to set up operation around the city. Even Pitrodas C-SAM has a development center in Vadodara.

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