Kerala to develop tech parks in all districts soon

The Kerala government will soon kick off measures to develop IT parks in all the 14 districts in the state.

State home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, replying to the members' queries in the Assembly on Monday on behalf of chief minister VS Achuthanandan, who is also the IT minister, said the state had already begun efforts to make the projects a reality shortly.

"The government has set up the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITF), which would undertake the job," he said. Consultancy major PriceWaterhouse Coopers has been asked to work out the project details.

The minister told the Assembly that various districts including Alappuzha, Palakkad, Kannur, Kasargod and Kozhikode have already gone a step ahead in the process and submitted site proposals for IT parks.

The government is currently examining the proposals and a decision would be taken on the basis of the guidelines drawn up in this regard, Balakrishnan said. The government has spelt out certain norms such as basic infrastructure facilities including uninterrupted power, housing, water availability, proximity to rail heads as well as road and air connectivity, he added.

The state is already home to two major IT parks "� Thiruvananthapuram Technopark and Kochi Infopark. Both these technology parks house home-grown as well as global IT majors.