The Hindu Business Line : IT sector is a major contributor to quality of life in Kerala: Study

It was found that 21 per cent of the employees have fathers who are either unemployed or daily wage earners and 62 per cent of employees currently earn more than their fathers’ salary at retirement.

V. Sajeev Kumar

Kochi, Nov. 4

The information technology sector has contributed to the quality of life across all sections of society in Kerala with its huge employment potential for the educated youth.

A study conducted by CII Kerala State Council on the social profile of IT employees in the State has revealed that 53 per cent of the IT employees come from rural areas in the State. The study also found that 39 per cent of the employees studied in Malayalam medium and 50 per cent of the employees came from families with income of less than Rs 15,000 a month.

It was found that 21 per cent of the employees have fathers who are either unemployed or daily wage earners and 62 per cent of employees currently earn more than their fathers’ salary at retirement.

As much as 75 per cent of the employees either fully or partially support their parents financially.

Mr V.K. Mathews, Convenor of IT Panel, CII Kerala State Council, said that what makes IT different from other industries is its employees market, high remuneration, high employee turnover, contract jobs, high investment in training, global competition and the absence of blue collar-white collar divide.

The CII has constituted the IT panel to facilitate accelerated growth of IT/ITES sector in the State. The sector is important for Kerala because of its employment potential and a totally non-polluting environment. It consumes less power and requires less land than other industries and the sector is highly remunerative.

Awareness drive

The IT panel of the CII has initiated steps to create awareness on the special nature of IT among the people and to identify and address constraints, which included investor perception, human resource fit for employability, policy framework and government support. In its efforts to increase awareness among stakeholders, the sector conducts IT/ITES panel sessions with the participation of industry leaders, investors, IT companies etc. The panel regularly influences government for policy support and promotion.

As part of its effort to promote Kerala as one of the premier IT destinations in the country, CII jointly with the Kerala Government is striving to facilitate accelerated growth of the IT industry within the State and recognise Kerala’s emergence as a prominent IT destination.

Role of IT is fast changing from that of supporting to transforming business and Kerala should be able to play a big role in the transformation with its educated population.

Referring to the software exports from the country, the study said that Karnataka has emerged as the leading State with Rs 74,929-crore exports in 2008-09 followed by Tamil Nadu with Rs 36,700 crore and Andhra Pradesh with Rs 32,500 crore. The share of Kerala in software exports during the period was to the tune of Rs 1,853 crore, which is expected to be Rs 3,000 crore in the next fiscal.

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