"It is estimated that progressively 50 such hi-tech habitats can be viably set up. To fulfill targets set for it industry by 2008," the IT action plan of the task force, said.

The 108 recommendations in the IT action plan of the task force aim at increasing exports of software and IT related services to a whopping 50 billion dollars by 2008, besides creating 10 lakh jobs in the next five years.

"The five cities cover the east, west, north as well as south. The objective is to push Information Technology in all parts of the country to boost productivity and hence national income," executive director of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), Dewang Mehta,spokesman of the task force, said.

Declining to quantify the productivity gains that would result from the implementation of the IT action plan, he however said that they would be `very substantial'.

The government will facilitate setting up of such hi-tech habitats by empowering state governments and enacting the required regulations, the action plan said.

It has also been decided to give a priority sector status to the IT software and services for funding purposes. "IT software and services shall be treated as priority sector by banks for the next five years," according to the report.

A high-level inter-ministerial implementation committee comprising of Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, Communications and Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Defence Minister George Fernandes is to give its report by the middle of July, 1998.

Mehta said the task force would now work on the draft National Informatics Policy (NIP), which wouldfacilitate India's emergence as an Information Technology superpower.

The draft policy would be readied within the August 22 deadline, he said.