Apart from the various avenues it seeks to open for attracting investment, Kerala government' ambitious Global Investor Meet from January 18-19 is poised to present the state as a potential Information Technology destination.
The recent decision of IT major Infosys to invest in Kerala is seen as the strongest endorsement of the state's IT readiness that seeks to enhance its visibility on the IT map.
A host of other IT companies are expected to follow Infosys to invest in the state, official sources said.
With the National Association of Software and Service Companies rating Kochi as the second most competitive destination for IT-Enabled Services or ITES, Kerala has in right earnest begun a focussed promotional campaign in the IT arena.
Kerala's budget spending on IT infrastructure, e-governance and human resources is now the highest in the country.
The Technopark in the capital, designed to meet the exacting, currently applicable requirements and security specifications of global IT and ITES companies, has become a much sought-after destination for investors.
Aruna Sundararajan, the state IT secretary, says Kerala is a cost-effective location for IT industries that offered to the entrepreneur the maximum facilities. After Mumbai, Kochi has the best international bandwidth connectivity in the country.
"With an increased human resource pool, cost-effectiveness and a new work culture, Kerala is now an ideal location for IT investment. We are also trying to demonstrate on ground that Kerala has the most IT-friendly government," Aruna Sundararajan said.
The IT policy announced by the state last year had been a landmark event with its orientation towards creating a pro-business, legal, regulatory and commercial framework to facilitate the rapid growth of IT industry in the state.
The policy had been actively followed and the government had delivered in 60 out of 70 areas identified for development. These included work on infrastructure upgradation, human resource development and imparting training for ITES.
The state also can leverage its unique connectivity advantage of being the landing point of two major international submarine cables linking Kochi to USA, Europe and the Far East, sources said.
The 'Akshaya' project of the state to improve computer literacy standards was also right on course. The entire training content for the project had been developed indigenously around 15 major areas including agriculture, health, tourism and gender issues.
A total of 750 kiosks would be set up before April this year under the programme and the first-level training of entrepreneurs would start on Jan 24.
"We are trying to evolve a new model: creating demand on one hand and utilising the available skills to meet the demand on the other," Aruna said.
