Keen to turn agriculture-driven Punjab into an IT hub, state-owned IT promotion body Punjab Infotech said today it hopes to have a sizeable land bank available for companies like Infosys and Wipro to set up shop in the near future.

"In due course of time, we think we will have about 2,000 acres of land for developing IT and IT-related projects in the state, which will provide impetus to the IT investments in this region," Punjab Infotech Managing Director R K Verma said here.

The lack of a sufficient land bank with Punjab Infotech has been a major deterrent to attracting IT investments in the state, according to Punjab Infotech.

"The majority of IT companies are reluctant to invest in Punjab because not enough land (is) earmarked for the IT sector for expansion. They want a huge chunk of land for establishing their base," a senior official of Punjab Infotech confided.

"With the creation of a new land bank only for IT companies, the state will be able to convince major IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro (and) TCS to set up their base in the state," he said.

Punjab presently contributes less than 0.3 per cent of India's IT exports. Barring Dell, Quark and HCL, the state has not been able to attract investment from IT giants here.

Outlining the state's initiatives to procure land for the IT sector, Verma said the state government has initiated the process of acquiring 1,400 acres of land in Rajpura for setting up an IT park or knowledge park. In addition, Punjab Infotech has 12.11 acres of prime land located at Railmajra, in Ropar, on which development work would start within one month.

Verma also informed that Punjab Infotech plans to earmark 50 acres of land in Kapurthala for development of an integrated IT park, besides another 280 acres of land in Rupnagarand and 50 acres of land at Sneta, in Mohali.

The department has already set up another 365-acre IT park in which companies like Tata Business and Dell are operating.

Besides creating infrastructure, Punjab Infotech is also laying special emphasis on creation of the required manpower for the IT sector. In this regard, Punjab Infotech, in collaboration with the Punjab State Board for Technical Education, will hold a Post Graduate Diploma course in computer applications.

"The course has been designed keeping in mind the current need of technological skill in the market," he said.