Technopark, Trivandrum

Technopark is a technology park in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Established on 18 November 1990 by the Government of Kerala, under chief minister E K Nayanar, it is the largest information technology (IT) park in India in terms of developed area.[2] As of 2015 Technopark has 10 million sq ft (930 thousand m2) of built-up area, and is home to over 400 companies, employing more than 56,000 professionals, and it is still expanding, adding another 37 hectares (91 acres) as part of Phase III expansion, and 423 acres (171 ha) as Technocity—an integrated IT township near Pallippuram.

Technopark
TypeGovernment owned
IndustryInformation Technology Business Park
GenreInfrastructure Service Provider
FoundedJuly 1990 Dedicated to nation in November 1995
Headquarters
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
,
India
Number of locations
Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam
Area served
10 Million sq.ft.
Key people
Sri Sasi Pilacheri Meethal, CEO
OwnerGovernment of Kerala
Number of employees
52,746 (2017)[1]
Websitewww.technopark.org
Aerial view of Technopark Phase I campus on June 2014

The policy of economic liberalisation initiated by the government of India in 1991, and the rapid growth of the global software industry during the 1990s, substantially contributed to this growth. During the global financial crisis of 2007–2010, the park saw a period of reduced growth in 2009–10, when exports were only 2.8% more than the previous year.[3][4] During the 2016-17 financial year, the park recorded IT exports of Rs. 5,000 crores.[1]

Technopark is owned and administered by the Government of Kerala and is headed by a chief executive officer. In addition to this, it has a Governing Council and a Project Implementation Board, both of which include top officials of the government.[5] Administrative offices, including that of the CEO, are housed in the Park Centre building. Technopark also hosts a Technology Business Incubation Cell under Kerala Startup Mission.

Technopark houses domestic firms, joint ventures, and subsidiaries of foreign companies engaged in a wide variety of activities, which include embedded software development, smart card technology, enterprise resource planning (ERP), process control software design, engineering and computer-aided design software development, IT Enabled Services (ITES), process re-engineering, animation, and e-business.

History and mission

In March 1990, the Government of Kerala conceptualised Technopark as a facility to foster the development of high-technology industries in the state. Technopark was set up under the auspices of Electronics Technology Park, Kerala—an autonomous body under the Department of Information Technology of the government of Kerala.

Technopark's aim was to create infrastructure to support the development of high-technology companies.[6] On 31 March 1991, the foundation stone for Technopark was laid by E K Nayanar, Chief Minister of Kerala, at a ceremony presided over by K R Gowri Amma, Minister for Industries.

The foundation stone for the first building in Technopark was laid on 31 July 1991 by then Chief Minister K. Karunakaran. Noted industrialist K. P. P. Nambiar was Technopark's first chairman. Technopark was formally dedicated to the nation by the then Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, in November, 1995.[7]

Since then, Technopark has been growing steadily both in size and employee strength. Park Centre, Pamba, and Periyar were the only buildings constructed in the beginning, by 1995. Since then, Technopark has periodically added new buildings, such as Nila (1997), Gayathri, and Bhavani. With the inauguration of the 850,000 sq ft (79,000 m2) "Thejaswini", on 22 February 2007, Technopark became the largest IT Park in India.[8] After that, Leela Group has built a facility, "Leela Infopark", that hosts MNCs like Allianz, Oracle Corporation, D+H, RM Education, and Zafin.

Socio-economic impact

Technopark has become the single largest source of employment in Kerala,[9][10] with over thirty thousand people directly working in the facility. Thus, its impact on the city of Thiruvananthapuram has been significant.

Air travel to IT hubs—such as Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad—is available from Trivandrum International Airport, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) away.

Workforce

Technopark hosts about 400 companies, and a workforce that numbers more than 56,000 personnel, in the IT and ITES sectors: companies such as Allianz–Cornhill, Ernst & Young, Good Methods Global/CareStack, Infosys, Navigant India, Oracle Corporation, QuEST Global, RR Donnelly, SunTec Business Solutions, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Elxsi, Toonz Animation, and UST Global,[11] as well as Finastra, H&R Block, IBS Software Services, Nissan Global Digital Hub, RM Education, Envestnet, OXOMO Systems International, Proudeon, and TechMahindra.

Institutions
Buildings in Technopark Phase III

Technopark hosts two educational and research institutes. The Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Kerala, (IIITM–K) is an institution of higher education and research and development in applied Information Technology and Management.[12] Portals for computational chemistry and agricultural information dissemination are among its areas of focus.[13] IIITM–K is located at present in Park Centre.

The Asian School of Business (ASB) used to have its flagship post-graduate management programme in Technopark, before moving it to its own 16 Acre LEED-certified campus in 2011.[14] The Asian School of Business is managed by a board of governors, which includes Tata Consultancy Services CEO S. Ramadorai and Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan.[15]

Infrastructure

Technopark aims to provide the infrastructure and support facilities needed for IT/ITES and electronics companies to function. In addition to office space, it provides utilities and connectivity, which is done either directly or through private partners. Besides, Technopark provides business incubation facilities for start-up firms as well as some social infrastructure for the personnel working in the park.

Buildings
Interior of Bhavani building
Nila building
Amstor building
Bhavani building

There are currently about a dozen buildings on the Technopark campus intended for software development. Seven of the buildings are named after rivers in Kerala—the Pamba, the Periyar, the Nila, the Chandragiri, the Gayathri, Bhavani, and the Thejaswini, the seventh building, which was commissioned in February 2007, with over 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m2) and 60,000 square metres (650,000 sq ft) of carpet area. There are also independent buildings of private enterprises inside the Phase I campus: Amstor House, Padmanabham, and M-squared. These buildings have an aggregate floor area of about 3,500,000 sq ft (330,000 m2).

Key parameters of buildings in Technopark[16]
Name Number of floors Total area
(in thousand sq ft)		 Number of elevators Generator backup
Pamba 460150%
Periyar 460None50%
Chandragiri 4572100%
Gayathri 31294100%
Nila 7400650%
Amstor 5350 4100%
Bhavani 6480[17]6100%
Thejaswini 12850[18]8100%
M-Squared Building 445[19]2100%
TCS Peepul Park 4 to 5325[20]N/A100%
Tata Elxsi Neyyar 4100}4100%
IBS Campus 4 to 10450[21]2100%
Leela Info Park / Carnival Technopark 14460[22]6100%
Quest Global Towers 74006100%
IIITM Kerala 4 4 100%
N/A indicates no information available
10 sq ft.=~1 m².
Thejaswini building

Other facilities in the campus include:

  • Technopark Club – Includes a gym, swimming pool, restaurant, and sporting facilities.
  • Technomall – a shopping complex
  • Technopark guesthouse
  • Private IT parks of individual companies
  • Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
  • Technology Business Incubator

Utilities and support facilities

Technopark infrastructure facilities include power backup, uninterrupted water supply, and ambient air conditioning; for all buildings. 100% of electric power is available from the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited (KSEBL) and the diesel generators operate with less than 5% annual downtime (with at least 95% uptime, generating electricity). Technopark has its own 110kV electric transformer substation and a 25 mega volt-ampere dedicated internal power distribution system with built-in redundancies at all levels. The water supply is maintained through a dedicated water distribution system.

Technopark has other support facilities such as a satellite earth station, a 200-seater convention centre, a club, a guest house, a shopping complex (Techno-Mall), banks, ATMs, restaurants and conference rooms on campus. Furthermore, setting up of new units is accelerated by exemption from state-level clearances as well as through ready-to-use incubation facilities.

Transport facility

Technopark Express service is a public transport system for Technopark employees. It was inaugurated on 17 April 2017 by Hrishikesh R Nair, the then CEO of Technopark, Infopark, and Cyberpark.

Connectivity

Technopark offers multiple Internet Service Providers, including Reliance Infocomm, STPI, BSNL, Bhari, and VSNL.[23] Leased-line fiber connectivity is available to all buildings on the campus, guaranteeing that connection breaks are a thing of the past.

FLAG Telecom—a subsidiary of Reliance Infocomm—has its FALCON global cable system at Thiruvananthapuram, providing direct connectivity to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Technopark is connected through fibre link, with a self-healing redundant ring architecture, to Reliance Internet's data center and gateway at Mumbai, directly connecting to FLAG, the undersea cable system backbone that connects 134 countries including the U.S., U.K., and other countries, in North America, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia, and Asia Pacific.[23][24]

Park Centre, the administration office of Technopark

Technopark Business Incubation Centre (T-BIC)

The Kerala Startup Mission, formerly known as the Technopark Business Incubation Centre (T-BIC), aims to provide economical plug-and-play facilities to start-ups in the IT/ITES fields.[25] This facility has given rise to over 47 successful ventures, many of whom have expanded by taking up space elsewhere in Technopark.[26] T-BIC currently has 8,000 sq ft (740 m2). (800 sq m.) at Park Centre, and this is being expanded with another 10,000 sq ft (930 m2). (1000 sq m.) in the newest Technopark building, Thejaswini.[27] One of the latest companies started at T-BIC is Entiresoft Technologies Private Limited.[26]

Expansion and new projects

Phase II
Technopark campus building being constructed by US-based Taurus Group

Technopark has acquired 86 acres (0.35 km2) of land, for its Phase II expansion.

  • Out of this, 50 acres (0.20 km2) has been earmarked for Infosys and 36 acres (0.15 km2) for UST Global.[28]
    • Infosys is planning to create up to 2,500,000 square feet (230,000 m2) of space to eventually accommodate up to 15,000 professionals. It plans to set up 600,000 sq ft (56,000 m2) in the first phase.[29]
    • UST Global was to set up a 32,000,000 square feet (3,000,000 m2) campus to be completed by 2015. 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2) of space was to be completed by January 2012.[30] Work on the campus was started on 24 October 2007.[31]
  • Tata Consultancy Services has been allotted 25 acres (0.10 km2) within the campus for their software development centre.[32] This is in addition to the 14 acres (0.057 km2) of land allotted to them for setting up their new training centre—Peepul Park.
  • IBS Software Services is constructing a 450,000 sq ft (42,000 m2) office on 5 acres (0.020 km2) of land.[33] The first phase of the campus was inaugurated on 23 October 2007.[34]
  • Tata Elxsi Limited, which is the product design arm of the US$68 billion Tata Group, has taken 3.5 acres (0.014 km2) on which to build its design and development centre. The first phase of the campus was commissioned on 7 September 2007.[35]
  • The NeST group has also been allocated land to build a development centre, on which work has almost been completed.
  • OXOMO Systems International is one of the fastest-growing IT company in the area, concentrating on software development, Digital Marketing, and IT outsourcing sectors.

Technopark Phase III
GANGA and YAMUNA of Technopark Phase III Campus
View towards Phase II Campus

Technopark has completed acquisition of 100 acres (0.40 km2) of land for Phase III expansion. Firms like Larsen & Toubro and the Rahejas are planning major developments within and around Technopark as well. L&T has already announced its plans to set up a 35-acre (0.14 km2) hybrid IT-and-residential park as part of Technopark Phase III.[36][37] iGate (formerly Patni Computer Systems) has already announced that it will set up a Rs 150 crore ($US 32 million) development centre in Phase III.[38]

The second and third phases of expansion of Technopark along with the ramping up of operations of the existing IT units are expected to see an investment of around Rs. 3000–4000 crore (US$0.75 billion) and an additional creation of 80,000–100,000 jobs.

Taurus Investment Holdings, along with its partners Embassy Group and Asset Homes, is building a mixed-use project that is to build 5,500,000 square feet (510,000 m2) of floor space on 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land, as a part of Phase 3.

Phase IV expansion – Technocity
Main article: Technocity, Thiruvananthapuram

The fourth phase of Technopark is also referred to as the "Technocity" project. It involves a mixed use—IT, biotechnology, nanotechnology, commercial and residential development—spread over 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land, about 5 km (3.1 mi) from the present campus. It will be a self-contained IT township with the potential to employ 100,000 people.[39][40] The expected investment in the project is around Rs 60 billion (over US$1.5 billion), according to 2007 estimates.[41]

Once Technocity's land acquisition is complete, Technopark will have an extent of close to 850 acres (3.4 km2), making it one of India's largest IT satellite townships in terms of geographic area, comparable to that of projects like Mahindra World City in Chennai.

The government of Kerala has decided to partner with multiple private developers for Technocity and has formed a special company – Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited (KSITIL) – to take up the work.[42] 204 acres (0.83 km2) of the project area has already been acquired.[43] A Request for Qualification was issued on 1 June 2008, and nine major developers, including international majors Emaar and Forest City Enterprises, have applied for qualification.[44]

Special Economic Zones in Technopark

There are three Special Economic Zones (SEZs) inside Technopark. Each economic zone encompasses one of Phases I, II, or III.[45] Phase IV will also become an SEZ once land acquisition is completed and will provide a range of economic benefits to the companies operating within Technopark.

Technopark Club

A sports and recreation club on the campus of Phase I provides diverse facilities for professionals to unwind.[46] These include a gym; a swimming pool; and courts for basketball, badminton, table tennis, and beach volleyball. The Club supports tour operators in organising recreational travel of employees and their families; it also has a massage parlour, Vaisakha, and a multi-cuisine restaurant.

Technopark Adventure Club
A small sacred grove inside the campus

The Technopark Adventure Club provides adventure activities to employees of Technopark and their families. It organises activities such as parasailing, rock climbing, rappelling, trekking and camping, paragliding.[47] It administers a camp at Munnar, as well as corporate training camps.

Tech-A-Break

Tech-A-Break is Technopark's annual cultural extravaganza.[48] Typically held over the course of a week, it kicks off with a Carnival parade and ends with performance by top-notch professional bands, dance groups, and musicians.[49]

The climactic scenes of the 1997 Malayalam film Superman were filmed in Technopark's Travancore Hall.

The 2009 Malayalam film Ritu was extensively shot on the Technopark campus.

See also

Notes
  1. "Economic Review 2017" (PDF). Kerala State Planning Board. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  2. "Kerala's Technopark to Be India's Largest IT park". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  3. "Exports from companies in Technopark: Chapter 21, page:502, section:21.8" (PDF). Information And Communication Technology. Planning Board, Government of Kerala. 1 December 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  4. "Exports from companies in Technopark: Chapter 21, page:220, section:21.66" (PDF). Information And Communication Technology. Planning Board, Government of Kerala. 1 December 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
  5. "Campus Notes of Technopark". Technopark. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2007.
  6. "Mission of Technopark". Technopark. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  7. "Thejaswini dedicated to the nation by Chief Minister". Technopark. Archived from the original on 12 February 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  8. Rajeev PI (3 March 2007). "God's own country to house largest IT park". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2006.
  9. Vipin V. Nair (1 August 2005). "We're catching up". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2007.
  10. "UST Global in 3-yr deal as Virgin Racing tech partner". SportzPower. 23 February 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. "About Technopark". Thiruvananthapuram Technopark. 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  12. "About the institute". IIITM-K. Archived from the original on 6 May 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  13. "R&D Projects and Servuces". IIITM-K. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  14. "About ASB". Asian School Business. Archived from the original on 31 March 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  15. "Board of Governors". Asian School Business. Archived from the original on 31 March 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
  16. "Infrastructure". Technopark. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 6 March 2007.
  17. Technopark.org Archived 5 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. Technopark.org Archived 4 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  19. Technopark.org Archived 29 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  20. "Vagroup.com". Archived from the original on 26 March 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  21. "Ibsplc.com" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  22. Siproperty.in
  23. "Connectivity". Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram. 1 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  24. Sanjay Anand. "Falcon to connect Middle East". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  25. "New Technology Startup Policy to boost entrepreneurship in Kerala". Kerala IT News. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  26. "Technopark TBIC". Technopark. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  27. Sankar Radhakrishnan (22 February 2007). "Technopark to expand T-Bic facility". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  28. "US Technologies to set up own campus in Technopark". The Hindu Business Line. 28 February 2006. Archived from the original on 15 September 2006. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  29. "Infosys plans expansion in Thiruvananthapuram". CIOL. 30 October 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
  30. "VS to launch work on UST campus". The Hindu. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
  31. "Stone laid for UST Global campus". The Hindu. 25 October 2007. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
  32. Nevin John (8 March 2006). "TCS to setup new campus in Technopark". Rediff Money. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
  33. "Work on IBS campus on". The Hindu. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2006.
  34. "IBS opens new campus". The Business Standard. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2007.
  35. "Tata Elxsi opens its new office". Technopark. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  36. "Campus Notes of Technopark". Technopark. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 16 February 2006.
  37. T. Ramavarman (6 February 2007). "Technopark expansion to begin soon". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  38. "Patni to set up Rs 150 Cr center in Technopark" (PDF). Business Standard. 6 February 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  39. "Infrastructure of Technopark". Technopark. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  40. Priya Padmanabhan (30 October 2006). "Infosys plans expansion in Thiruvananthapuram". CIOL News. Archived from the original on 9 November 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  41. Krishna, KR (May 2019). "Education Consultancy". Info.
  42. "Multi-developer strategy for Kerala Technocity". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  43. "Acquisition begins for Technocity". The Hindu. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  44. "9 Majors in the race for Technocity". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  45. T. Nandakumar (1 March 2005). "New block to be opened at Technopark by October". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 February 2007.
  46. "Technopark Club". Technopark. Archived from the original on 8 February 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  47. "Technopark Adventure Club". Technopark. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
  48. "Cultural fete at Technopark". The Hindu. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  49. "Tech-A-Break". Technopark. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2007.

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