The Centre has given assurance of providing Rs five crore to West Bengal for the digitisation of courts in the state.

"I spoke to the Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid and he has verbally committed to provide five crore for the digitisation of the courts," Chairman of the Core Committee on IT set up by the state government, Sam Pitroda told reporters here today.

Pitroda said the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court was very enthusiastic about the computerisation of the courts, but was concerned that there were no fund.

"When I told him that the state might get a fund of Rs five crore he replied that 19 courts could be digitised with the money," he said.

Pitroda, who earlier in the day held the first meeting of the core committee of IT where he is the chairman, hoped that there were many opportunities in the software and hardware department which needed to explored.

"We need to think out of the box," he said.

"There are many Bengalis all over the world who are well established and very successful in their fields. We need to rope them in and develop a mechanism so that they can contribute for the development of the state," he said.