Kerala govt gives approval to Nissan to set up a new tech facility

UST GLobal to take 49% stake in a Kerala-owned company which manufacturers Intel-based laptops

Kerala cabinet has given its nod to allocate the space for Nissan to set up a tech facility in Thiruvananthapuram. It may be noted, the company along with its French partner Renault is operating a development centre at Mahindra World City, near Chennai just few kilometers away from its manufacturing facility. 
 

While the company officials were not available for the comment immediately, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted saying "gave approval for the digital campus of Nissan Motor Company in Thiruvananthapuram. Nissan will be given a land in Technocity and floor space in the Yamuna building of technopark". 
 

Known sources said the campus will accommodate around 3,000 people. Investment details were not available immediately. Nissan is focusing on developing intellectual property in India and the concentration will also be on manpower, said a senior management. 

In another development, UST Global, a US-based digital technology services firm, will take a 49 per cent stake in a new company which will manufacture the Intel-based laptops in Kerala.

In the state cabinet meeting, a decision was also taken on the ownership of company for making Intel-based laptops. Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) will own 23 per cent of the new company, 26 per cent for Keltron, UST Global will own up to 49 per cent and the remaining two per cent will be given to hardware startup companies recommended by the IT department.

On the other hand, the cabinet has decided to take over the Palakkad Instrumentation Ltd, which is a central public sector undertaking (PSU). It will be valued at Rs 0.53 billion. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with the Union Government and a new company will be registered as Instrumentation Limited Kerala and the assets will be transferred to it.

Palakkad Instrumentation comes under the Mining Industry of the Government of India. Until 1993, the company worked for profit but the government decided to close the company after incurring losses. The committee was constituted to chair the chief secretary to assess the company's asset liabilities and the asset was based on the recommendation of this committee.
 

The cabinet also sanctioned Rs 235.8 million as loans to the Travancore Cochin Chemicals limited, including Rs 13.72 in interests will be converted as shares.