Infosys has become one of the largest exporters in IT and ITeS from Kerala and now contributes to 18 per cent of the State's export in the sectors in 2009-10, according to Mr Kris Gopalakrishnan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Software Development Block-1 in the new campus at Technopark-II (an SEZ) here, Mr Gopalakrishnan said that the campus will grow to five lakh in built-up space when the second building gets ready for occupation in May.

STP TO SEZ

Infosys started its operations in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2004, housed in the Bhavani and Thejaswini buildings of Technopark. The campus at Technopark (STP) seats over 1,500 employees.

“Within a short span of six years, we have gone from no presence in Thiruvananthapuram to an STP facility and an SEZ. “We have gone from zero employees to more than 2,800 employees and nil revenue to more than Rs 440 crore as of today. This centre is growing at about 30 per cent annually and is one of our fastest at that,” Mr Gopalakrishnan said.

The State Government has invested and worked towards enhancing infrastructure facilities at Thiruvananthapuram to make it a premier IT destination globally.

“Kerala has a large pool of highly qualified professionals and the availability of quality manpower has been an impetus for us to expand operations in the State,” Mr Gopalakrishnan said.

GROWTH RATE

In the just concluded National Association for Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) at Mumbai, the industry growth rate for the current year was projected to be between 16 and 18 per cent.

In the long term, the industry is projected to grow at around 11 to 13 per cent, reaching $225 billion by 2020. Infosys is projected to grow between 25 and 26 per cent in fiscal 2011.

“For the next year, we are making 25,000 offers in campuses. For this, we have already visited about 30 college campuses in Kerala,” the Infosys top honcho said.

The company has been running an initiative called Campus Connect. Through this initiative, it seeks to enable faculty and train students. This year, 24 colleges from Kerala have participated in the initiative. About 15,700 students from Kerala have downloaded courseware that the company shares on a portal, again as part of the Campus Connect programme.

SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

As the number of employees working in Technopark grow, the company has to make sure that the support infrastructure around has to be developed to keep pace with this growth.

It will require wider and better managed roads. There has to be housing complexes, schools for the children, enhanced other support systems like hotels, restaurants, and hospitals. Mr Gopalakrishnan suggested that the State Government develop these facilities ahead of time. This will encourage more companies to come to Thiruvananthapuram and more people to move to the city seeking employment.

This is because IT and ITES industries are the key drivers for job growth in cities over the last 10 years and Thiruvananthapuram can take advantage of this trend.

50 ACRES LAND

Among those present at the inaugural function were the Chief Minister of Kerala, Mr V. S. Achuthanandan, and Mr Oommen Chandy, Leader of the Opposition, Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Senior representatives from Infosys were also present at the occasion, including Mr Srinath Batni, Member of the Board; Mr Ramadas Kamath, Senior Vice-President; and Mr Sunil Jose, Head, Infosys Thiruvananthapuram Development Centre.

The new campus at is spread over 50 acres and will be developed over five years in a phased manner. The Software Development Block-1has a capacity to seat 1,600 employees and has seen an investment of Rs 180 crore till date.

This includes a food court, recreational facilities for employees, ‘chiller' building, diesel generation block, water storage and treatment facility, sewage treatment plant and roads. A 1,800-seater Software Development Block-2 is also currently under construction at this campus.

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