Bangalore stars in our plans, Murdoch tells Krishna

Bangalore stars in our plans, Murdoch tells Krishna
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

BANGALORE, MARCH 14: It had to happen. A man like Rupert Murdoch couldn't possibly ignore India's IT capital. And now Bangalore is all set to become a prominent target of investment by the News Corp chief. Not only will the Garden City host Star TV's second hub (after Mumbai), the State is likely to be showered with investments in areas of e-commerce and software development.

Murdoch gave wind of these developments after he had a 45-minute breakfast meeting with Chief Minister S M Krishna on Monday morning. "I discussed with the Chief Minister what we can do for Bangalore in the future," he said.

The media baron said he was keen on expanding Star TV operations in India, and Bangalore would be its prominent base in the South. Significantly, his statement comes close on the heels of his announcement that the network would invest a few hundred million dollars in India for expanding operations, primarily in multimedia and six new Indian language channels.

The Chief Minister described Murdoch's visit as a "useful one" and said the latter found Bangalore to be an attractive place both for his e-commerce and entertainment ventures.

"It appears Star TV's operations in Mumbai had reached a saturation level and the network wants a second base in the country. And he feels Bangalore is an ideal place," he said. Star TV officials would now come back to the city to concretise their expansion plans, the Chief Minister said.

The News Corp chief was in India to explore investment opportunities in India, and "from the impression he gave, he has investment plans for the city," the Krishna added.

The Chief Minister said Murdoch seemed to have a number of ideas, but he did not spell out any. However, the Chief Minister hastened to add that his government would provide all assistance as and when the media mogul outlined his plans.

Murdoch, the Chief Minister said, was impressed with the strides the State has made in software development. And having personally witnessed the success and prosperity of Wipro and Infosys, the media baron commented, "Here is wealth and talent," Krishna told newspersons.

Asked if Murdoch mentioned the amount of investment, Krishna replied in the negative, but added that he did speak of a few hundred million dollars. Clinton too busy to drop by: The Chief Minister attributed paucity of time as the reason for US President Bill Clinton's decision to skip Bangalore. "I am a student of international law, and I know how the tour of an US President is fixed. I feel, because of limitations of time, he is unable to come to Bangalore," he said.

"Well, someday he will visit the city," the Chief Minister hoped.