If information technology is the religion of modern India, IT Parks are the new temples. IT parks are being planned in almost every state, across the country: from Kochi to Goa, from Bhubaneswar to Vishakapatnam, and from Chandigarh to Kashmir.

When they first started coming up in the late nineties, software technology parks—as they were called then-- they redefined the landscape of large Indian cities. Now, these parks are part of the new mantra being mouthed by state governments who missed the IT bus in the previous decade. Salt Lake City – the planned satellite of Kolkata– has been positioned as the "heart centre" for the IT industry. A relatively backward state, Uttar Pradesh now wants to turn five of its cities into “IT cities”, and in 2004 roped in corporate honchos to help the state plan these cities.

Remote or bustling, every state in India wants an IT Park on its portfolio. The deputy chief minister of the state of Jammu & Kashmir recently announced that an IT Park would be established in Ladakh, a region with few inhabitants, boasting of an average height of over 10,000 feet above sea level and rarefied glacial air.

Since more than 80 per cent of the occupants in India’s IT parks are multinationals, quality emerging as a defining parameter at these parks. They offer global class amenities for offices at costs which are many times lower compared to what similar facilities cost in the west. Uninterrupted power, broadband (in many cities, wireless) connectivity, high speed elevators, futuristic steel and glass buildings were always a given in major IT Parks such as those in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

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