Meltdown blues: Kerala IT sector seeks stimulus
If official confirmation is required of the trouble brewing in IT circles in the country, it is coming from Kerala, where the industry is formally seeking assistance from the government to tide over the turbulent times it is facing.
By Joe A Scaria, ET Bureau |
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If official confirmation is required of the trouble brewing in IT circles in the country, it is coming from Kerala, where the industry is formally seeking assistance from the government to tide over the turbulent times it is facing.
GTech, a forum of IT companies operating at the Technopark here which has over 100 companies and roughly 25,000 techies working out of its campus, is seeking a stimulus package from the state government to face the setbacks caused to the industry by the global slowdown.
The forum wants the stimulus package to be started immediately and have it run through the duration of the downturn.
GTech honorary secretary Satish Babu said the fact that the IT sector provided direct employment to 60,000 people and several more indirectly, and had annual revenues of Rs 1,500 crore made a good argument for the state government to help it tide over the crisis.
The association is primarily seeking assistance in two areas, namely an immediate stop in rent escalation in government-owned IT parks like the Technopark, and more operational flexibility on the staffing front.
GTech president Rama Rao said IT rents in Kerala had over the years increased, leaving little attraction for companies to operate from the state, even in comparison to the metros. He said the annual 10% rent hikes was pricing Kerala out of the IT sweepstakes and that the authorities should consider a 30% reduction in rental considering the worldwide drop in commercial rentals.
Other proposals put forward by GTech include removal of cap on power usage, and a modification of policy guidelines to enable local companies to take up e-governance projects.
GTech, a forum of IT companies operating at the Technopark here which has over 100 companies and roughly 25,000 techies working out of its campus, is seeking a stimulus package from the state government to face the setbacks caused to the industry by the global slowdown.
The forum wants the stimulus package to be started immediately and have it run through the duration of the downturn.
GTech honorary secretary Satish Babu said the fact that the IT sector provided direct employment to 60,000 people and several more indirectly, and had annual revenues of Rs 1,500 crore made a good argument for the state government to help it tide over the crisis.
The association is primarily seeking assistance in two areas, namely an immediate stop in rent escalation in government-owned IT parks like the Technopark, and more operational flexibility on the staffing front.
GTech president Rama Rao said IT rents in Kerala had over the years increased, leaving little attraction for companies to operate from the state, even in comparison to the metros. He said the annual 10% rent hikes was pricing Kerala out of the IT sweepstakes and that the authorities should consider a 30% reduction in rental considering the worldwide drop in commercial rentals.
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Tech companies in the state are also unhappy with the way authorities reacted to pink slips issued by a leading software company a few months ago. They say that re-legislation was an urgent requirement to overcome the deficiencies of existing labour laws.Other proposals put forward by GTech include removal of cap on power usage, and a modification of policy guidelines to enable local companies to take up e-governance projects.
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