Special IT investment regions planned in Kerala

Special Investment Regions for IT will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, as part of making the State a preferred destination for investments.

Announcing this, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said here that priority would be given to development of basic infrastructure for IT industries.

SINGLE WINDOW

A ‘single window' network for various clearances will also be introduced, he said delivering the inaugural address at the two-day ‘India IT Summit' that began here on Thursday.

The event is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Kerala State Council.

The Chief Minister said the State Government would set up a platform with representatives from industrialists to monitor availability of basic infrastructure required by the industry.

A Kerala model IT policy will be formulated with the aim of providing employment to thousands of educated rural youth.

CYBER PARKS

‘Cyberparks' have been planned in the lines of Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram and Infopark in Kochi to build, operate and manage IT parks for the promotion of investment in IT and ITeS industries in Malabar region.

Cyberpark, a Government-owned agency, is in the process of setting up IT parks at Kozhikode and the upcoming special economic zones (SEZs) at Kannur and Kasargod.

Kerala's strengths in the market also lie in its pursuit of new opportunities. The two key segments that have been performing really well here are e-governance and remote processing, the Chief Minister said.

The proposed ‘Smart City' project would be implemented in a time-bound manner and employment opportunities would be provided to one lakh people.

Small towns in the neighbourhood will be developed into satellite townships by providing transport and communication facilities and setting up appropriate industries.

The industry, Government and the academia will jointly take decisive action to harness technology and catalyse growth of the State's IT sector.

Earlier, Mr Jose Dominic, Chairman, CII-Kerala Council, delivered the welcome address. Mr V. K. Mathews, Chairman, India IT Summit, introduced the theme of the event, ‘Business strategies for non-linear growth.'

PLENARY SESSION

Among those who spoke in the inaugural session were Mr P. K. Kunhalikkutty, Minister for Industries and IT; and Mr Alexander Varghese, Co-Chairman, India IT Summit.

The plenary session featured panellists Mr Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, President and Managing Director, Dell India; Mr Avinash Vashistha, Chairman and GU Managing Director, Accenture India; Mr Pratik Mehta, Director-Public Sector, Microsoft India; and Mr V. Ramaswamy, Vice-President and Global Head, iON, TCS. vinson@thehindu.co.in

COMMENT NOW