Kerala keen to take Kochi Smart City project forward

Kerala govt for citizen-oriented IT policy.

The Kerala government is making earnest efforts to realise the SmartCity project in Kochi, promoted as a joint venture with the Dubai-based Tecom, said Fisheries Minister S Sarma here today.

Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of India ICT Summit-2010, Sarma, who is also the chairman of SmartCity, said the government welcomed mediatory role played by MA Yousuf Ali, director of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to resolve the differences of opinion between Tecom and state government.
He however declined to comment on the details or conditions of talks between Yousuf Ali and Tecom representatives.

Inaugurating the conference, Sarma said the state was now ideally placed for rapid development of the IT sector. The IT industry in Kerala has registered significant growth in exports during the last few years. The exports grew to Rs 2,412 crore in 2009-10 from Rs 141 crore in 2001-02.

He also stressed the need for a common man-friendly IT policy in the state. “The state needs an IT policy which should bring the welfare services of the government to the common people. The IT sector needs to have an orientation towards the common people.”

Delivering the keynote address, Ajay Kumar, principal secretary (IT), said Kerala’s contribution to the national IT export basket has increased from one percent to two percent now. Small and medium IT industries have a major role to address the rural and domestic markets. According to him, availability of land is the major advantage for Kerala, regarding the development of IT parks.

S Mahalingam, executive director and CFO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), stressed the need to assess the preparedness of the industry for the changing technological trends. He said TCS has plans to recruit 35,000 people from campuses next year. “We have a detailed plan for expansion and we will be hiring more people as part of the expansion programme,” he added.

IT services major Infosys Technologies managing director and CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said the state is emerging as an attractive and investor friendly location. Kerala need to focus on theme-based IT parks. “If we can focus on a particular theme for each of the upcoming IT parks, it can attract more entrepreneurs of that particular industry. It is more of creating clusters or embedded systems of industries”, he added.

Gopalakrishnan also suggested that Kerala create a unique brand about the quality of life offered for the employees in the IT sector. “With its natural beauty and unique concepts like Ayurveda, the state can easily create a unique brand, which can attract high spending IT employees”.