High Power IT Committee – CM Chaired the first meeting

Technoparktoday.com(April, 2017): It was in March 2017 that the State Government constituted a high power committee to promote Kerala IT. The committee is headed by Shri. S D Shibulal, Co-Founder & Former CEO of Infosys as Chairman and has 10 IT industry stalwarts who has taken the onus to promote Kerala’s IT industry in the global market. The first meeting of this High Power IT Committee (HPIC) was held at Mascot Hotel Thiruvananthapurm.

The Chief Minister chaired the first meeting of the HPICwith the objective to bring a structure for the growth of IT in the state, focus on the development of the IT digital infrastructure and to work towards bringing a radical change in Kerala’s IT industry. The high power committee comprising of IT leaders who have made major contributions in the growth of Information Technology in India will act as brand ambassadors for Kerala’s IT industry and promote the State in the global IT marketplace. The IT leaders welcomed the government’s vision for Kerala’s IT industry and assured total support of the industry towards the same.

IT Secretary of State, Shri M Sivasankar IAS, on behalf of the government explained their plan to create a digital open IT network to host Citizen Services and ensure direct delivery of the same to the public. HPIC suggested creating a state-of-the-art next generation IT architecture for the State that will enable digital lifestyle for its citizens which should allow participation from all stake holders including major IT players/industry stakeholders, enterprises and start-ups.

HPIC discussed the State’s draft IT policy in detail. Hrishikesh Nair, CEO IT Parks also appraised the committee members on the feedback from the IT companies on the IT policy draft based on the meetings held at the three IT hubs (Technopark, Infopark & Cyberpark). HPICfelt that the policy was very comprehensive and appreciated the provision for updating sub policies each year. The suggestions for changes to be incorporated in the draft policy were discussed which will be collated for update before the finalization of the Policy.

The High Power IT Committee recommended setting up a team of senior officials to drive Corporate engagements that will help promote investments in the State. The team will provide seamless support for clients across various government departments and will be under the direct supervision of Chief Minister’s Office. A final report detailing the action plan on the same will be presented before the next meeting.

The HPIC also recommended to the government to host an IT Summit with the aim to bring together senior IT professionals across the globe with linkages to the State. They highlighted that the event should be utilised to showcase the opportunities in the IT and Knowledge sector the state has to offer and also to enhance the brand Kerala IT.

The committee will have monthly conference calls with the IT secretary and CEO IT Parks to review the progress and has decided to convene the next HPIC meeting on July 2017.

The members of the High Power IT Committee are: Mr. M Sivasankar IAS, Secretary, IT, GoK; Mr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, former CEO, Infosys; Mr. V K Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group; Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan, founder CEO, Rediff.com; Mr. Duleep Sahadevan, Software Associates; Mr. Anthony Thomas, CIO, GE India; Mr. Dinesh Thampi, Vice President, TCS; Mr. Ashok Pammidi, Regional Director, NASSCOM; Mr. Saji Gopinath, Faculty, IIM Kozhikode; Mr. Rajesh Nair, Director, Ernst and Young and Mr. Hrishikesh R Nair, CEO, IT Parks-Kerala.

TechnoparkToday.com