With rising levels of e-literacy and availability of digital infrastructure, demand continues to grow for services that help citizens realize the potential of e-Governance. The state government responded by launching key e-Governance initiatives and by rolling out over 80 e-Governance applications for the people.
To help realize the potential of e-Governance, Kerala IT touches ordinary citizens with information, digital inclusion, and e-Governance systems and services. Information delivery takes place through knowledge dissemination centres, called “Akshaya Centres”, which are spread across the state and lie within easy reach of every household. The State Data Centres (SDCs), which form part of the core digital infrastructure, deliver e-Governance services. All SDCs are connected to the Kerala State Wide Area Network (KSWAN), the network backbone that connects three Network Operating Centres (NOCs), 14 District Head Quarters, 152 Block Head Quarters, and 63 Mini Points of Presence (POPs). To support information delivery and interaction, the Citizens’ Call Centre functions as a single-window facility for providing assistance across government departments, organizations, projects, etc.
Integrated personnel services (SPARK), e-Health, e-Office, and e-Procurement for fast, transparent and efficient services
To ensure a high level of transparency among government staff, the Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK) hosts an integrated personnel, payroll and accounts information system that helps the administration to ensure a consistent application of rules and to forge better employee relations. Every staff has a unique Permanent Employee Number (PEN) as a stamp of identity across departments and services.
e-Health provides an integrated framework to ensure efficient delivery of healthcare services. It includes a centralized database of healthcare information and support solution for nearly 50,000 healthcare service personnel consisting of doctors, paramedical and nonclinical staff at the primary, secondary and tertiary care centres.
e-Office brings in efficiency, speed and transparency in the way files are managed at various government departments, collectorates, sub-collectorates, directorates and line departments.
e-Procurement helps in enhancing transparency and efficiency in public procurement activities and monitoring the same on a real-time basis.
The primary drive towards establishing Kerala as the preferred IT destination arises from its rich talent pool, excellent infrastructure and community synergies. The Kerala government acts as a catalyst to facilitate an enabling environment by building world-class IT parks, fostering incubators and forging new tie-ups.
The government has envisioned a holistic growth plan for the state with the hub-and-spoke model of development. Technopark (Thiruvananthapuram), Infopark (Kochi) and Cyberpark (Kozhikode) act as hubs for satellite centres in the hinterland.
Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram: It is one of India's largest IT parks and one of world's greenest technopolis as well. It is Kerala’s first IT park with more than 486 companies employing more than 72,000 IT professionals. visit website
Infopark, Kochi: Ever since its inception in 2004, Infopark has been growing fast and attracting investments from IT majors. The 260-acre campus is divided into Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and non-SEZ facilities.visit website
Cyberpark, Kozhikode: Cyberpark offers tailor-made workspaces, intelligent infrastructure and end-to-end solutions for global IT/ITeS companies. It is strategically planned, road-mapped and fast-developing as the ideal destination for investments in the information technology sector. visit website
The three IT parks together have more than 1200 companies that provide employment to over 1.5 Lakh IT Professionals. Technopark is extensively laid out across 766.86 acres of land in 5 phases, with 10.6 million sq.ft.of built-up space. Has both IT SEZ and DTA areas within the campus. Infopark has a total built-up area of 6 million sq.ft.and Cyberpark a combined built-up area of 8 Lakhs sq.ft.
To strengthen the startup ecosystem and support industrial growth, the state developed India’s first Public Private Partnership incubator with a vision to create 1,000 technology startups over a period of 10 years. Today, the Startup Village is a role model for other states to emulate technology-based entrepreneurship. Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) anchors the state’s startup scene, being the first non-academic business incubator. Since its inception in 2006, KSUM has helped in the formation of more than 132 companies and hosted many more companies virtually and physically. KSUM is now the nodal agency for establishing the startup ecosystem in the state.
Major industry bodies consider Kerala as a digital innovation hub with a capacity to transform the socio-economic landscape of the state.These organizations have come forward to join hands with the state’s IT sector to drive the digital transformation. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has joined hands with Kerala Startup Mission to support the app economy in the state. NASSCOM has partnered with the state to catalyse the ITeS segment, promote mentoring and entrepreneurship, and help build the knowledge economy. The state also sends regular delegations to GCC and ASEAN countries for tying up with regional blocsand promoting the state’s IT sector.
With its continued focus on digital infrastructure and various ongoing digital initiatives, the Government's vision is to bridge the digital divide by 2020, create a digitally empowered society, and achieve sustainable economic growth.
KFON forms an essential part of the Kerala government's ambitious plan to provide Internet connection to BPL families, government offices, hospitals and schools. About 12 lakh below poverty line (BPL) families will be given free Internet connection. KFON is a highly scalable network infrastructure that provides on-demand, affordable broadband connectivity of up to100 Mbps for organizations and households. The network connects the state administration with all urban and rural areas to address the digital divide.
About 2000 WiFi hotspots across the state help connected-users in schools, hospitals, offices and houses. Under the WiFi scheme, around 30 million people will have free access to all websites and mobile applications of the state data centre. About 300 MB of free data for availing other Internet services is provided to the public.
The skill development platform is a database of two lakh specialized engineering hands in the state. By linking engineering colleges with the IT parks at Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and elsewhere in the state, SDPK aims to help engineering students upgrade and build their skill sets and enhance employability. Kerala State IT Infrastructure Ltd., Kerala State IT Mission, APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, and ICT Academy provide the required support to the platform.
Capacity building initiatives to develop in-house IT teams that are fully equipped to deal with the complexities of managing and implementing e-Governance projects and to reduce dependency on external agencies.
IIITM-K is a premier institution of excellence in science, technology and management. It actively promotes higher education through its IT facilitated education programs and services across Kerala and beyond. The institution is well-known for its research in Artificial Intelligence, Computational Linguistics and Remote Sensing among others. The institute is a pioneer in conceptualizing and implementing some of India’s well recognized IT initiatives in education, agriculture and e-Governance.
ICFOSS is an autonomous organization set up by the state government on the premise that Kerala has the right credentials as well as a responsibility to lead the rest of the country and the world in the domain of FOSS. ICFOSS aims to popularise Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for universal use; consolidate the early FOSS work done in Kerala; and network with different nations, communities and governments to promote FOSS.
ICT Academy of Kerala is a Social Enterprise created in a Public Private Partnership model (PPP) for imparting ICT skills to the youths of Kerala and improve their employability opportunities in the Industry. The Company is supported by Govt. of India , partnered by Govt. of Kerala and the ICT industry.
Thiruvananthapuram is emerging as a strategic Knowledge City that is base to strong knowledge sector industries, an entrepreneurial spirit and a skilled workforce. The city is constantly exploring new avenues in creating a vibrant economy of knowledge-based public and private organisations; forging networks across the business, research and education sectors; and encouraging entrepreneurs. These factors have led to Thiruvananthapuram become a Centre of Excellence in the knowledge sector, playing a pivotal role in the educational, industrial, and entrepreneurial scene in the region. As befitting its role, Knowledge City is witnessing a coming together of the triumvirate—startups, institutions and companies—to take part in key development activities that leverage disruptive technologies and redefine living standards and uplift communities. The Knowledge City is currently focusing on building capabilities in technologies such as Cognitive Science, IOT, Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Analytics, Cyber security, Block Chain and FinTech, Space Applications, and Electric Mobility.
