'Kerala will emerge as the Silicon Coast

Kerala is not just a beautiful state boosting great tourism; it is,

rather, a state that has IT bigwigs betting big on it. While the trend to move

away from metros has brought Kerala in the limelight, the state certainly has

whatever it takes to make an impact as an IT destination. Its human resource, a

developed social infrastructure, good quality of life, and most importantly,

great connectivity, both data and physical, are ideally suited for the knowledge

services industry. Its performance on the governance front is another feather in

the cap. Kerala has been ranked #4 in the Dataquest-IDC e-Governance overall

score of Indian States 2007. In an email interaction, IT secretary of Kerala,

Ajay Kumar, gave a detailed account of the states bubbling IT industry and the

ongoing e-governance initiatives. Excerpts

Dogged by labor unions and strikes, Kerala had been a state industrialists

used to shy away from. If the growth of the IT industry is anything to go by, it

seemed more like a misplaced perception. How did this happen?



It really was a perception issue rather than reality. The last ten years

have not seen any labor problems, in fact, the industrial front has been

peaceful in Kerala. The Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram has been there for

close to fifteen years now. There has neither been a strike nor a day lost due

to labor problems in any company. This is true for the Infopark in Kochi as

well. The IT companies that have grown from Kerala, like IBS, UST Global, among

others, tell a very positive story. IT majors that have centers in several

cities of Kerala like Infosys, have maintained that the productivity of their

Kerala units is among the highest.

Has Kerala finally started to hard sell itself as the IT destination?

Can you quantify the investments that are expected to come into Kerala?



The Kerala government has set up a new company, the Kerala State IT

Infrastructure Company, which will eventually have 51% government participation

and 49% private stake to lead the development of the IT infrastructure of the

state. This is expected to increase the investment in IT infrastructure

manifold. Some projects being carried out by KSITI are Tecnocity in

Thiruvananthapuram, an IT park in Calicut, and IT parks in other districts.

Smart City and Technocity alone will see an investment of over $2 bn in the

next 5-10 years. You will see a minimum of $4 bn being invested in IT/ITeS

infrastructure in Kerala. All recent market studies have rated

Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi as the best tier-2 destinations for IT. We are

seeing a rush of IT/ITeS companies wanting to start operations in Kerala.

Ajay Kumar secretary IT, DIT, Government of Kerala

Specifically, the Smart City project in Kochi, which is likely to generate

employment close to 90,000, is expected to change the face of Kerala. Your take

on that?



Apart from the Smart City project, there are other equally big projects like

the Technocity and Infopark Phase 2. All these projects are being developed in

public-private partnership. Keralas human resource is ideally suited for the

knowledge services industry. Kerala has everything needed by the knowledge

industryhuman resource, excellent connectivity, both data and physical,

developed social infrastructure, fine weather, and good quality of life. With IT

parks coming up in all the fourteen districts of Kerala, you will see the state

emerging as a silicon coast.

Are there any plans on working closely with private companies to promote

Kerala cities as cosmopolitans like Bangalore or Chennai?



It is like a chicken and egg situation. As the industry is developing, more

and more people from other states and cultures are coming to settle in Kerala.

This is bringing a cosmopolitan outlook to the state, and it is happening fast.

People in Kerala are exposed to all types of people and cultures, thanks to the

established tourism industry here. They are open to embrace people from other

states and countries without any reservations. Kerala is inviting private

investment in various sectors to bring in that cosmopolitan ambience to the

cities.

Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation or Keltron, has recently

signed an agreement for imparting technical training from its centers in

Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Kollam, and Kozhikode. What is the MoU looking at,

and what are the other plans on developing a technically sound workforce?



Keltron has been in the training space for nearly a decade. Due to its
continually improved showing, it has been able to expand its operations in

several spheres including IT education and training. This is a welcome move

because the demand for IT human resource is huge and Keltron is contributing its

share in meeting this demand.

You have been quoted as saying that constraints of capital, technology,

and management have delayed effective implementation of e-gov? How is the state

planning to overcome these hurdles?



E-governance projects require huge capital investments. A very rough

estimate would suggest that computerization of major departments in Kerala would

require an investment of approximately Rs 4,000 crore. In other states, the

demands may be even bigger. We have been spending roughly Rs 80-100 crore per

year on e-governance. At this rate, it may take forty years to complete the e-gov

initiatives. The Indian government has promised funding under the Mission Mode

Projects (MMPs). In Kerala, we are hoping for support for three of the MMPs

under World Bank funding. However, this will address only part of the

requirement. There is a need for greater capital investment and the state and

Central governments will have to jointly address this issue.

What major e-gov initiatives is the state government planning?

Specifically, what is the status of SWAN?



Kerala SWAN is at an advanced stage as compared to most other states. It covers
all district headquarters, all block headquarters as well as ten remote points

below the block level in each block. There are three NOCs in Thiruvananthapuram,

Kochi, and Kozhikode; networks connected in a diamond network providing

redundancy and business continuity. The NOCs are connected on 14 Mbps

connectivity, which is possibly the highest in the country. The NOCs are

connected to all the district headquarters. The connectivity from NOCs to

district headquarters is presently 4 Mbps and is being upgraded to 14 Mbps

shortly. Several applications are running from the district to the state level

on KSWAN, including the commercial taxes application, transport department

application and videoconferencing. We find that existing capacities are

inadequate to cater to the demands coming from different departments. We are

therefore taking steps to enhance the NOCs and district HQs.

What is the update on the mission mode projects and the two e-district

projects?



The Indian government approved the e-district project for Kerala in February

this year. We have selected two districts for the purpose. The implementation

will begin during the coming year. Using this project, we will be able to link

our DC Suite project with Akshaya Centers, and provide additional G2C services

based on digital databases, which have been created in several departments.

Urvashi Kaul



urvashik@cybermedia.co.in