Exports from Kerala’s IT sector set to touch ₹1 lakh crore: CM

Exports from Kerala’s Information Technology (IT) sector are set to touch the ₹1 lakh crore landmark soon as a result of the conducive ecosystem and infrastructure created by the State government, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.

He said that more investment was flowing to the sector as the State offered good connectivity, talent pool and state-of-the-art facilities. The presence of the Vizhinjam port also played a major role. He was speaking after inaugurating the new Research and Development (R&D) Centre set up by Software as a Service (SaaS) provider Zoho Corporation at Neduvathoor in Kottarakara on Wednesday.

6,400 start-ups

Mr. Vijayan said that the State currently had 6,400 start-ups. Approximately ₹6,000 crore in investments had come to the State through these start-ups. Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal presided over the function in which Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, was the chief guest.

Initially, Zoho will recruit 250 young professionals to impart training in cutting-edge domains. Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology department; Kerala Startup Mission Chief Executive Officer Anoop Ambika; founders of Zoho Corporation Sridhar Vembu and Tony Thomas, Chief Executive Officer Shailesh Kumar Davey, and Principal Researcher Jayaraj Poroor; and Indian Space Research Organisation former Chairperson S. Somanath were present.

The new R&D campus is located on a 3.5-acre information technology park established by Zoho Corporation.