Southern States - Kerala   

Kochi to become premier ITES spot

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM AUG. 1. The Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna, flew to Thiruvananthapuram today to launch a four-day event being organised by Kerala with the ambition of emulating his State's success in the IT sector.

The `IT Kerala 2002', as the event is called, is modelled after the festival Karnataka has been hosting successfully each year to showcase its capabilities in the field. Last year also, Kerala had hosted the event.

The Kerala Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, who presided over the inaugural function, said his State was only too proud of accepting Karnataka as the model. He expressed the confidence that Kerala too would become a frontline IT State in the next five years.

Mr. Antony said that while the Technopark, in the State capital, would continue to remain the State's flagship initiative, the Government would be developing Kochi also as a premier IT Enabled Services (ITES) destination. "Kochi now has one of the most advanced communication infrastructures in the country. Efforts are on to further augment and consolidate this advantage,'' he said.

The Chief Minister said the Government would be spending Rs. 30 crores this year for the first phase of a project to offer custom-built environment for the ITES industry at the Kinfra Export Promotion Park at Kakkanad in Kochi. An area of 100 acres in the Park would be set apart for this project, he added.

Mr. Krishna said the low employment to literacy ratio in Kerala suggested that the State had to do a lot to channelise its valuable human resources. He said the ITES industry, if suitably exploited, would be the right answer for the State. He said the policy initiatives being taken by the Antony Government in the areas of labour relations, single window clearances and support infrastructure for the IT industry would surely be rewarded with a better investment flow into the State in the near future.

The Industries Minister, P. K. Kunhalikutty, who presented an overview of the Government's efforts in the sector, said the `IT Kerala 2002' marked the culmination of the first phase of a series of ambitious policy and development initiatives in the State.

"We have committed ourselves to creating a pro-business regulatory framework for the industry, upgrading the quality of the infrastructure and augmenting the availability of knowledge workers,'' he said.

The Opposition leader, V. S. Achuthanandan, the Thiruvananthapuram Mayor, J. Chandra, and the chairman of the Manufacturers Association for IT, Vinnie Mehta, were among those who spoke at the function.

Several leading IT companies in the country are participating in the four-day event, seeking new business links and new clients. The event would also feature conventions in which industry experts and academicians from across the country would speak.

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