Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today credited late union minister Murasoli Maran with being responsible for the IT revolution in the state and said he had asked him to frame an IT policy in the budget as far back as 1988-89.

"Murasoli Maran persuaded me through letters and phone calls to evolve an IT policy. That is why we now see Tamil Nadu is in the forefront in the sector, with increase in software exports every year," he said after inaugurating the Rs 380 crore TIDEL Park here, the second after the one in Chennai.

He recalled that former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee had inaugurated the Tidel park in Chennai in 2000, since which the IT sector had registered growth.

Union IT and Communication minister A Raja,who spoke, said a Rs 50 crore IT Research Academy would be set up at Udhagamandalam in Tamil Nadu, which would be ready in a year.

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin said software exports from Tamil Nadu had increased from 10.2 million dollars in 2001-02 to 73.9 million dollars this fiscal. The park, he said,would provide employment to 12,000 directly and more than 2,000 people indirectly.

Tamil Nadu IT minister Dr Poongothai said six more IT SEZs would come up in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 675 crore in Hosur, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai,Tirunelveli and Salem.

Omkar Rai, Managing Director, Software Technology Park of India (STPI), said STPI, with 51 centres in India, was closely working with Tamil Nadu for development of IT sector.