The State Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to set up an IT and digital hub on the Technocity campus in Pallipuram. The facility will be coming up in the 97-acre land taken on lease by the TCS on the Technocity campus.
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The modern development facility will host engineering, product development and IT services in manufacturing, aerospace and defence domains. The project will focus on the latest technologies like Robotics, AI, Machine learning, data analytics, blockchain and IoT. TCS also plans to set up an incubation centre for technology startups.
K.Mohammed Y Safirulla, Additional Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology Department, told The Hindu that the decision is a boost to the IT sector in the State during the COVID-19 period.
“It was envisaged initially as a training centre for TCS. But for various reasons, it could not take off. They then evinced interest in setting up a development centre. As the challenge and the need now is job creation, we agreed on an MoU, which the Cabinet has now approved. Another positive here is that the TCS is going to focus on the latest technologies. In the first phase, which is expected to be completed within 28 months, 5,000 jobs will be generated, and when the project is completed, 20,000 jobs will be generated. Direct investment of ₹1,200 to 1,500 crore can also be expected,” said Mr.Safirulla.
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He said that 7 acres out of the 97 acres will be used for setting up a facility for Tata Elxsi, the hardware arm of the group.
Sustainable campus
The campus will be developed as a sustainable one, with efficient energy, water, clean air and waste management concepts integrated. TCS currently employs about 15,000 people in their development centres in Kerala and is the largest employer in the field of IT in Kerala.
Active presence of a reputed company like the TCS in Technocity, working in advanced areas of defence and aerospace, is expected to attract many small and big companies in these sectors to Kerala. With the opening up of defence and aerospace industry to the private sector, large investments in these sectors are expected in future, said Mr.Safirulla