Kerala Government Discusses New IT Policy

The Government of Kerala is discussing an IT Policy on August 12th that is expected to provide comprehensive support for the development of the IT sector in the State. The new IT policy aims at:

* Creating a knowledge-based economy in Kerala with global opportunities.
* Developing “IT@Kerala” as the most preferred IT/ITeS investment destination in the country.
* Attracting investments in the ICT sector.

The government will simplify labour laws to suit the needs of IT/ITeS companies and help them overcome the barriers pertaining to employment in the industry. All IT/ITeS companies will be granted permission to have 24×7 operations. Emphasis will be given on the development of state-of-the-art civil infrastructure such as roads between IT hubs, cities, and airports on a continuous basis.

An Integrated Government Call Centre (IGCC) will be set up to enable citizens to interact with the government for accessing various services and to lodge complaints. It will act as a centralised helpdesk that provides citizens with guidance/information regarding the various services and schemes of the government. Public-private-partnership investments in establishing IT schools will also be encouraged.

The government will establish a Government-Industry-Academia task force to identify knowledge partners to develop new curriculum for the IT students. Initiatives will also be taken for fostering strategic collaboration with other countries for bringing the best in e-governance and establishing bi/multinational funds for R&D and fostering innovation in product ideas.

In order to increase the participation of the local people in contributing local specific information to the web and to promote the use of Malayalam language, the government will give priority to development of technologies for enabling Malayalam and promoting the same while delivering government services online.