THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Global IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today firmed up its plans to expand its operations in Kerala by signing a Memorandum of Understanding for leasing of 97 acres of land at the Technocity at Pallipuram near here, which will bring a hefty investment of Rs 1200-1500 crore to the state.
The MoU was signed between TCS and Technopark in the presence of Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan, who termed the agreement as marking a major stride in the state’s quest to become a knowledge economy.
Presiding over the ceremony through videoconferencing, the Chief Minister appreciated that TCS has come forward to base one of its major facilities in Kerala at a time when many companies have shelved their expansion plans due to crisis triggered by COVID-19 pandemic.
“This simple ceremony marks the beginning of a major step forward. A highly reputed company, TCS will be bringing an investment of Rs 1200 to Rs 1500 crore of investment to the state. The project will provide some 20,000 direct jobs. This has happened when major efforts are on at different levels to transform Kerala into a knowledge economy,” the Chief Minister said.
It is also important that TCS is opening the campus in Technocity, which is going to be a major destination for defence and aerospace technology ventures, with application of new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics and BlockChain.
The TCS hub will have a prominent role in supporting these ventures, he said. “The setting up of the proposed Startup Incubator within the TCS campus will help to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Kerala. India has acknowledged Kerala as a state having best practices in the startup sector,” the Chief Minister added.
The significant presence of TCS will also attract more big and medium companies to the state, he added.
Chief Secretary of Kerala Dr Vishwas Mehta and IT & Electronics Secretary K Mohammed Y. Safirulla were among those present. From TCS side, NG Subramaniam, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer; Madhavan Nambiar, Advisor, Tata Group and Alok Kumar, Senior Executive, TCS joined from Mumbai.
The agreement was exchanged between Sasi Pilacheri Meethal, CEO, Technopark and Dinesh P Thampi, Vice President & Head, Kerala Operations, TCS at Technopark here.
Dr Mehta called the collaboration between TCS and Technopark can take the IT sector in Kerala to newer heights. Assuring all support to the project, Dr Mehta hoped that TCS will forge a great synergy with the Digital University at Technocity.
Subramaniam thanked the State Government for extending all support to TCS’s plans. He said the availability of right skill sets in the areas of defence and aerospace enthused TCS to set up this hub at Technocity. “We looked at various probabilities as we wanted to give back something unique to Trivandrum and Kerala.” TCS already has a training centre functioning from Technopark.
TCS has leased out 97 acres of land for 90 years with Technopark. Engineering, Product Development and Information Technology Services in manufacturing, defence, aerospace sectors with focus on new generation technology such as Internet of Things, Block chain, Robotics, Data Analytics, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence will come up in the new complex at Technocity
Group company Tata Elxsi will set up their Digital Development Centre within the TCS campus at Technocity.
It is anticipating completion in 22-28 months and the campus will enhance the greenery of the region besides integrating sustainability goals as its core with efficient energy, water, clean air and waste management concepts.
