Kerala government unveils its unified IT brand at GITEX Technology Week
A high level delegation is representing the south Indian state
at the annual IT extravaganza
The government of Kerala, India, is unleashing a unified IT brand initiative, to drive the state towards the status of a holistic and preferred IT destination in India, it was announced by officials at the GITEX Technology Week 2008 today.
A high level delegation comprising of Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary – Information Technology, Government of Kerala, Mr. R.K. Nair, CEO, Technopark and Mr. Siddhartha Bhattacharya, CEO, Infopark are representing the south Indian state at the GITEX Technology Week this year.
Commenting on Kerala government’s participation at GITEX this year, Dr. Ajay Kumar, Secretary – Information Technology, Government of Kerala, said: “We are pleased 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 space to set shop in Kerala in recent years. We are looking forward to meeting IT companies based in and around this region at GITEX, for us to explain what we can offer them. Apart from IT companies, we are also inviting real estate firms to build and operate facilities for IT industry in Kerala.”
The Kerala government’s stand is located at E6-10, Hall 6 of the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The GITEX Technology Week is being held from October 19, 2008 to Oct 23, 2008
The primary drive towards establishing Kerala as the preferred IT destination arises as The Government of Kerala acknowledges the critical importance of Information Technology as an instrument for the State's overall development and remains deeply committed to its dissemination, both as a crucial engine of economic growth and as a tool for increasing productivity, speed & 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.
This distinctive resort town ambience coupled with the highest physical quality of life, are seen by lot of companies as reason enough to move into Kerala. Today, Kerala has a lot more to offer. Consummate real estate solutions, an investor friendly Government, easy availability of qualified personnel and an extremely facilitating and scalable infrastructure beckon the IT industry. And the best part is that these are available at the most economical rates. These advantages are putting Kerala as one of the most sought after destination for the IT & ITES industries in the country.
The recent NASSCOM survey on leading IT/ITES destinations covering a range of parameters including land costs, power and communication infrastructure ranked Kochi & Thiruvananthapuram as a top notch ITES destinations with potential of challenging metros like Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi. 100 per cent literacy and a very high level of e-literacy aided by Government led projects such as AKSHAYA, Friends and Step ensures a ready manpower resource for ITES/BPO sector.
Here are the core competencies of Kerala which makes it one of the most promising destinations for IT / ITES investment.
• 100% digital telephone exchanges, 98% of telephone exchanges connected by OFC to the National Internet Backbone (NIB)
• OFC backbones through out the state by Reliance, Bharti, Asianet.
• Highest telephone density; 20 per 100, double the national average
• Lowest Power Tariff in the country
• Highest Human Development Index
• Malappuram - First WiFi district in the country
• 'SEA-ME-WE-3' and 'SAFE' submarine cable landings (1 of the 2 states in India to have two submarine cable landings)
• 15 GBps bandwidth support
• VSNL's primary international gateway in Kochi handles around two third of the country's data traffic
To promote IT parks in Kerala, the government has adopted a hub and spokes model. There are 2 hubs already developed viz. Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram and Infopark, Kochi. The third hub, Cyberpark, will be launched soon an d will be based in Kozhikode. These 3 hubs will cater to the respective nearby areas.
Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram
One of the largest IT parks in India, Technopark is a unique convergence of the best IT infrastructure and a stimulating environment. It is the first IT park in the country to be assessed at CMMI Level 4. Strategically located 10 minutes from the Thiruvanathapuram airport, Technopark, boasts of some of the renowned corporate names in the domain of IT and ITES.
Spread over nearly 300 acres with 4 million sq. ft. of built-up space available currently, Technopark hosts over 150 IT and ITES companies employing over 20,000 IT professionals, including five PCMM level 5 company, 6 CMMI level 5 and four CMM Level 3 and over 20 ISO 9001 certified companies.
Technopark offers a unique confluence of advantages, not found elsewhere in comparable destinations in India - robust and failsaf e physical infrastructure, power and data connectivity; highly trained technical manpower; most flexible regulatory framework; attractive incentives (up to 180,000 USD); and the best law and order environment in India. All this at effectively one-third the operational cost of other comparable locations in India. Technopark's vision is to provide a holistic enabling environment to make knowledge industry intrinsically competitive and world class.
Technopark is currently on an major expansion mode by adding another 92 acres as Phase III expansion and 450 acres as Technocity -- an integrated IT township.
The Taj Group of Hotels has recently commissioned a business class hotel inside the Technopark campus. The hotel, built on one acre of land, caters to the long standing demand for quality accommodation within the park.
Technopark offers electricity through a 110 KV, 30 MVA dedicated internal power distribution system with built in redundancies at all levels. Technopark is a licensee for distribution of power in the campus. Water supply is distributed through a dedicated water distribution system by Technopark. Excellent support facilities like Earth station, a 200 seat international convention centre, club, guest-house, restaurants and conference rooms on campus ensure low-cost access to world class services. Further, setting up units is accelerated by exemption from state-level clearances, as well as ready-to-use incubation facilities. .
The units in the park are mostly joint ventures and subsidiaries of foreign companies engaged in a wide variety of activities which include embedded software development, smart card technology, ERP, process control software design, engineering CAD software development, IT enabled services, re-engineering, animation and E-business.
Infopark, Kochi
Infopark located at Kochi, is the second IT Park being developed by the Government of Kerala. To set up this project, Government has transferred 100 acres of land which is now under the ownership and possession of Infoparks Kerala, which is an independent society fully owned by the Government.
Infopark has ambitious plans to become one of the major IT Parks in the country. With this vision, it has been growing fast ever since its inception in 2004, and within a short period of time, has attracted investments from IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Affiliated Computer Services, OPI Global, IBS Software Services and US Technology. Because of the fast growth rate achieved and strategic positioning of the Park in the upcoming city of Kochi (previously known as Cochin), Infopark is well known among the IT/ITES investors as a very potential destination.
Smart City Kochi
Smart City Kochi is a joint venture project by the Government of Kerala and TECOM Investment FZ LLC, Dubai. It has been envisaged as an IT township project aimed at creating a world class infrastructure for the IT/ITeS companies in a self contained campus. The total project is spread across a land area of 246 acres in Kochi.
The project is planed to be developed as a Special Economic Zone encompassed by commercial, recreational and residential areas. The proposed direct investments on infrastructural development is to the tune Rs1,700 Crore for the development of 8.80 million sq ft of built up space. The project coordination and master planning for the project have begun. The department of commerce, Govt of India has granted formal approval for 136 acres for setting up a Special Economic Zone.
