Kerala to set up industry parks in educational institutions

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday launched an ambitious programme to address the lack of available land for industrial infrastructure development and to tackle the issue of industry-academic disconnect in Kerala by starting campus industry parks in educational institutions across the state.

Kerala Law and Industries Minister P Rajeev inaugurated the State Industries Department's programme, terming it a historic initiative that would transform the future of industries in Kerala.

"Already, 80 educational institutions have expressed their interest in starting campus industry parks, and this year we will be giving permission to 25 of them," Rajeev said, adding that this number is not fixed and more parks will be approved if they are exceptionally promising.

The industry department, along with the higher education department in Kerala, conducted a land mapping of educational institutions in the state and discovered that many of them have excess land beyond the stipulated area required by the governing authorities.

"In Kerala, the non-availability of land and its high cost are hindrances to the development of industrial infrastructure. So, we explored ideas to find land and came up with the concept of starting campus industry parks," the minister added.

Rajeev mentioned that the decision was made after a series of deliberations and discussions with various stakeholders.

"We first consulted industry experts to understand their expectations from the government. We also held discussions at the district level. Through these discussions, we identified the requirements and issues faced by the industry and formulated an industry policy," Rajeev said.

He noted that 22 key sectors have been identified as suitable for Kerala's unique conditions, leading to the decision to start campus industry parks in addition to private industry parks, a first in the country.

The parks are designed with the intention of strengthening academics. Students will have the opportunity to work in these industrial parks.

"The idea is to commercialise the research topics of the students through these parks, apart from providing hands-on, practical, course-related training to students," the minister said.

He added that the parks would be allotted regardless of whether the institution is government, aided, or self-financed.

"The only condition is that they must meet the eligibility criteria," the minister said.

The government will also provide infrastructure development incentives to these parks, amounting to Rs 1.5 crore per institution.