Iskrameco to invest Rs 1k cr for 1st hardware facility in New Town

Kolkata: In a first for Bengal, integrated smart metering solution company Iskrameco is investing close to Rs 1,000 crore to establish an integrated hardware and software facility for smart metering solutions at New Town's Silicon Valley. Iskrameco MD Madan Mohan Chakraborty told TOI that in Bengal, there has been a lot of investment in IT, but all of it has been in software. This would be the state's first major investment in hardware. The company has acquired 5 acres of land and is constructing an 11-storey building with 85,000 square feet on each floor."This would be a fully integrated facility. The first two floors would be dedicated to hardware, from component to meter, while the next nine floors would be for allied software services like smart metering solutions," Chakraborty said, adding that the project would be completed in the next three years. According to him, this facility will initially produce smart meters for power, and then for gas and water as well.Chakraborty pointed out that the IT sector in Bengal was expanding, but to boost it further, there is a need for investment in hardware. "If we get 3-4 investments in hardware, that would prove to be a major growth driver for the state," he added.Iskrameco currently has smart meter manufacturing units in Hyderabad and Mysore. It has received an order for 2.5 lakh smart meters from WBSEDCL. These prepaid smart meters will be installed in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Asansol and Burdwan.