Purulia Association goes in for registration

Purulia IT Association (PITA) is on the way to get itself registered after
one and a half years of formation. The delay was owing to the complexity of
legal hassles. The association, existing for more than one and half years was
unregistered.

Now, as the association planns to hold an expo in Purulia, various clearance
certificates are required. Thus, PITA is on the way to get a registration
certificate by the end of the next month.

A local IT dealer's association, PITA consists of 16 dealers in the city and
was formed as a consequence of the Microsoft raids and tender poaching by
dealers in the big cities. During its formation, the dealers elected an interim
committee to conduct its functions.

However, the association will soon be going for polls after the registration
process is complete. “About two years back, we received intimation from South
Bengal IT Association telling us about the raids Microsoft was conducting. In
big cities like Kolkata, the problem can be dealt with properly owing to the
unity and the strength of the big association. We felt a similar need for
Purulia and taking the initiative, we thought of forming a forum for dealers to
face the wrath of Microsoft,” said Krishna G Mallick, Interim Secretary, PITA.

Further, the problem in Purulia is acute. The primary vertical in the city is
the end-user segment followed by the government vertical. So far, the state
government, in its plans for the SWAN project and e-learning initiatives has
invested much in Purulia. However, PITA accused that big dealers from Kolkata
and other cities were encroaching on the territory and local dealers were losing
heavily on local projects. Thus, dealers in Purulia came up with the idea of
having solidarity and a forum where they could ensure that outside dealers are
not able to poach local projects.

Moreover, there is the problem of the Maoists coupled with infrastructural
and growth issues, but PITA has claimed that it rarely affects the business in
the city. Commenting over the upcoming plans of PITA, Mallik concluded, “We are
planning to hold an expo this time to generate more business and are awaiting
the clearance of the registration process in this regard.”