Kerala takes IT industry to rural areas

In a move to push the spread of the IT industry at the grassroots level, Kerala Saturday opened two "techno-lodges", small IT service centres, in Kadakkal and Perinad in Kollam district. The techno-lodges scheme of the state government seeks to facilitate the setting up of IT industry units in small towns and villages.

Labour Minister P.K. Gurudasan, who inaugurated the facility in Kadakkal, said the techno-lodge scheme would promote IT companies to operate from low-cost rural centres and thereby create employment in rural areas. "Today this has seen fruition in Kadakkal and Perinad, and very soon there would be more centres across the state," Gurudasan said.

Under the scheme, the government plans to open around 100 techno-lodges across the state with a view of creating more jobs in the IT-enabled services sector in rural areas. Over 60 panchayats (village council) have already come forward offering infrastructure facilities to set up techno-lodges.

Technopark-based Accentia Technologies has taken over the techno-lodges in Kollam and will start rolling out their services from these centres. The 2,500-square-feet Kadakkal facility has a seating capacity of 54, while it is 78 for the 2,750-square-feet centre in Perinad.

Accentia plans to employ 250 professionals in the Kadakkal facility and 300 in Perinad to work across three shifts. The state government has spent nearly Rs.2 million for refurbishing the building at Kadakkal and around Rs.3 million on the Perinad centre, officials said.

"Technolodge has been set up with the objective to create low cost alternative locations for BPO companies," state IT Secretary Ajay Kumar said. "Many IT companies in the state have already shown interest in the upcoming techno-lodges as this initiative will provide local talent and lower cost opportunities," he added.