The Government of Kerala Partners for $5 Billion Drive to Boost IT Infrastructure
Oct 23, 2008
Source: Khaleej Times

DUBAI — The Government of Kerala announced at Gitex a major global initiative to attract private sector participation in its IT infrastructure programme involving a total investment of $5 billion.

The initiative, which also seeks the participation of foreign companies, aims to boost the state’s IT infrastructure capacity by almost six-fold, said Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary, Information Technology, Kerala.

Under the 10-year plan, the government plans to set up 10 IT parks at Special Economic Zones across the state with private sector partnership.

"The government will invest $500 million and the rest will be invested by joint venture partners," he said. The $2billion Smart City, a joint initiative of Dubai’s Tecom investments with the state government in Cochin, is one of the upcoming projects that would change the industrial landscape of Kerala, he said.

Currently, Kerala is home to two major IT parks, the Techopark in Trivandrum and Infopark in Cochin. “With 10 more small to large IT townships, each involving investments ranging from $100 million to $1 billion, under way, the state is gearing up for a major leap in information technology sector to reposition itself status as one of India’s preferred technology destinations," Dr Kumar said.

The state also has launched an Information Technology human resources development programme. Under this programme, the state plans to provide intensive training to 200,000 college students in two years.

"It is finishing-school type of training programme through which students will be trained in various disciplines, including English language and behaviour to mould them as professionals," he said.

Work on some of the ventures, including the Techo City projects in Quilon and Ambalapuzha have started., said Kumar who is heading a high-level delegation comprising R.K. Nair, CEO, Technopark and Siddhartha Bhattacharya, CEO, Infopark at the Gitex Technology Week.

At Gitex, the south Indian state also launched a unified IT brand initiative. "The aim of the initiative is to showcase Kerala as the leading IT destination in India at an event such as Gitex. We have been able to attract some of the leading firms in the IT industry to set shop in Kerala in recent years. We are looking forward to meeting IT companies based in and around this region at Gitex. Apart from IT companies, we are also inviting real estate firms to build and operate facilities for Information Technology industry in Kerala."

Dr. Kumar said the Kerala government had acknowledged the vital importance of Information Technology as an instrument for the state’s overall development and "remained deeply committed to its dissemination, both as a crucial engine of economic growth and as a tool for increasing productivity, speed and transparency in governance and improved quality of life for the common man."

"Kerala’s lead over the other states in India on almost all social indicators is universally acknowledged. What is less known is that the spread of societal development is uniform throughout the state and not restricted to select cities. The benefits of social progression have been disseminated to the maximum number of people." "Regional disparities are, more or less, non-existent," Dr Kumar said.