We just need to market the state well, and the story will be quite different

Though it had a lead, Kerala has clearly missed the IT bus when compared

to other southern states. What really went wrong?



I would agree that we had a lead in terms of IT advancement. In fact, the

Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram was the first such park in India, way back in

the nineties. But due to a variety of reasonsmainly, negative perception and

lack of political willthe state lagged behind other states. Though Kerala might

have fallen in the race to investments, the state has continued to be a flag

bearer for India, in terms of social indices. Take the case of education,

infrastructure, or people; there is nothing that the state really lacks. We just

need to market it well, and the story will be quite different.

What benefits can IT companies draw by investing in the state?



Literally every survey in India ranks Kerala quite high as an investment

destination. The recent Nasscom survey of emerging cities also ranked Kochi at

the second position in the entire country. There are many reasons why IT

companies are indeed opening up campuses and development centers in Kerala. The

biggest attraction is cost saving; according to estimates, companies can save as

much as 50% on the cost of operation when compared to other destinations like

Bangalore and Chennai. Next is the highly literate workforce that is abundantly

available. Also, Kerala is very well connected to any part of the world, through

undersea cable connections. In fact, Kochi is the only city in the country which

is the landing point for both SEA-ME-ME3 (it lands in Mumbai) and safe undersea

cables that connect the country to the rest of the globe.

What e-gov initiatives have you taken?



The governments vision is to turn Kerala into a knowledge society with

sustainable economic growth, social harmony and high quality of life for all.

Unlike other Indian states, we lay a lot of emphasis on inclusive growth rather

than rapid growth. Our IT policy clearly maps out the path we intend to take.

Even our e-governance initiatives are geared toward that objective. Take for

instance the Akshaya project.

KR Jyothilal, special secretary, Department of IT, Kerala

To ensure that the benefits of ICT reach the commonest of the common

Keralites, the state government is in the process of setting up around 3,000

broadband-enabled information hubs, or Akshaya e-centers, throughout the length

and breadth of the state. The project envisages providing functional computer

literacy to at least one person from each of the 64 lakh families in the state.

In the time to come, every citizen of the state will have a unique Akshaya ID,

which will enable the citizens to make use of the numerous e-governance

applications through the Internet or the kiosks. By December 2007, the complete

state will have broadband connectivity, right up to the gram panchayat level.

We are also in the process of implementing the SWAN (state wide area network)

whereby all the 14 districts of the state will be connected to smaller blocks in

the state. All the districts have been inter-connected by a 30 Mbps pipe and

they will be connected to the block level on a 2 Mbps pipe, thereby facilities

like videoconferencing and other such things will be available to state

officials as well as to the common man.

There was also this talk of networking all government departments



Indeed, we are in the process of networking all government departments. As

of now, we have configured and networked fifteen departments; the entire

secretariat has been networked, making it the first in India. We are also

putting in mechanisms whereby petitioners can track the movement of files

through IT. As of now, the facility is available in the finance, IT, and

industries departments. This not just increases the efficiency but also helps in

making the process transparent.

What is your take on open source?



I am an ardent admirer of the open source movement, and feel that we should

have open source applications and systems wherever possible. The Kerala

government keenly promotes open software as it is less costly.

Shashwat DC



shashwatc@cybermedia.co.in