GTech pitches for a Kerala model

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Group of Technology Companies (GTech) - the industry body of software companies in Kerala - has mooted a ‘Kerala model' of IT development wherein the industry will be taken to semi-rural and rural areas where there is “critical mass of employable graduates”.

The GTech plan calls for IT companies to form at least 50 clusters, each employing 100 to 200 local persons. An equal number will be inducted each year.

Those recruited will be given formal, on-the-job training resulting in skill enhancement. The companies, in association with universities, will help these employees get a professional qualification such as the MCA degree.

Into the mainstream

At the end of five years, many of these employees will be ready for mainstreaming into the IT sector, GTech chairman and IBS chief V.K. Mathews told the media here on Thursday.

This plan was explained to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and to IT Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty two days ago.

Inputs sought

They were very receptive to the idea and asked GTech to given them additional inputs for the new IT policy which would be declared as part of the 100-day initiative of the government, Mr. Mathews said.

The government would have to “incentivise” this new IT model.

This could be in the form of absorbing the setup costs of the clusters.

Wherever possible, the new model could be integrated into the ‘techno lodges' set up in different parts of the State.

The clusters should not be set up by the government but by the companies themselves. Each cluster may cost a company at least Rs.20 crore.

Skill development

This decentralising of the IT industry would at one stroke provide employment to a large number of non-engineering graduates who otherwise would not make into the rolls of IT companies because of their poor English language and communication skills and because they were not savvy about western social skills.

The employees in the clusters would not directly interact with the mother company's clients.

Moreover, the clusters need not be built to exacting international standards.

This would maintain the cost-competitiveness of Kerala's IT companies, he argued.

“The government needs to give a policy framework to this model. It needs to identify the towns where clusters can be set up. The obligations of the companies and that of the government need to be clearly worked out,” he said.

Parallel road

The new model needs to be rolled parallel to the promotion of the traditional city-centric IT model.

Under this, the State government should ask the Centre to extend the STPI tax benefits to tier-two and tier-three cities.

The influence of NASSCOM should also be utilised for this purpose.

The government should not raise the rent at technology parks. Already Kerala is much more expensive than Bangalore on this front, Mr. Mathews said.

Brand Kerala should be promoted in a public-private partnership mode. There should be industry representation in government advisory committees on IT, he added.