Kerala government trying to woo Bengaluru IT firms amid water crisis

Thiruvananthapuram: As part of its efforts to attract more IT firms to Kerala, the state government is exploring the option of enticing IT firms in water crisis-hit Bengaluru to expand their operations to neighbouring Kerala.

Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev said that a team of officials from the state would be deputed to hold discussions with the IT firms in Bengaluru that are looking to expand.

"Many IT companies based in Bengaluru seem to be exploring options for expanding their operations. Kerala has been trying to invite more IT firms by highlighting the favourable factors of the state. Now that the water crisis has become a serious issue in Bengaluru, we would highlight the availability of water in Kerala as a favourable factor. A team of officials would be delegated to hold discussions with the IT firms," Rajeev told DH.

Rajeev also clarified that the state was not expecting the IT firms to shift their existing centres from Bengaluru to Kerala.

Incidentally, minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is the BJP candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat and a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, recently announced that Thiruvananthapuram would be made an IT hub of the country if the BJP comes to power again. 

Kerala has three major IT parks in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, and has regional IT parks in many districts. Apart from these, IT parks and infrastructure in the private sector are also coming up in the state.

Even as Kerala often boasts of a large pool of talented youths, the lack of adequate opportunities is forcing youths from Kerala to leave the state for jobs. The lack of social infrastructure was also often cited by IT firms as adverse factors in Kerala.