The MoU was signed between the state chief secretary P Subramaniam and Wipro chairman Azim Premji. This is the second major investment in the state's software sector after the Bangalore-based Infosys' Rs 100-crore investment plan. The state government has already signed a MoU with Infosys and has alloted 20 acres of land to the company at Hinjewadi near Pune.

Industries secretary Yashwant Bhave said, "Wipro will invest Rs 50 crore over three years. The company has been alloted 25 acres of land at Hinjewadi." He further stated that the company will set up its facility within the next 12 months, providing jobs to over 1,000 people.

The Rs 1,600-crore Wipro is a fully-integrated infotech company with interests ranging from software development, hardware manufacturing, hardware and softwaredistribution and maintenance. In fact, the company is one of the largest manufacturers of personal computers in the country and has a joint venture with Acer of Taiwan and sells PCs under both Wipro and Acer brands.

The company is also one of the country's leading software exporters and has a development centre in Bangalore. It has consistently ranked among the country's top 10 software exporters during the past few years.

Besides, the company has an agreement with Sun Microsystems of the US wherein the company sells and supports Sun's UNIX-based servers in the country.

Wipro's software exports has recorded 80 per cent jump to Rs 338 crore in 1996-97. The company's market capitalisation has leap-frogged by almost 10 times from Rs 840.24 crore to Rs 8,805 crore.