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Technopark is a
technology park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park”, "technopark", “technopole", or a "science and technology park" (STP)) is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters the growt ...
in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Established on 18 November 1990 by the
Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...
, under chief minister
E K Nayanar Erambala Krishnan Nayanar (9 December 191919 May 2004) was an Indian Communist politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M). He served three terms as the Chief Minister of Kerala (1980–1981, 1987–1991 and 1996–2001) fo ...
, it is one the largest information technology (IT) park in India in terms of developed area. Technopark has of built-up area, and is home to over 400 companies, employing more than 56,000 professionals, and it is still expanding, adding another as part of Phase III expansion, and as
Technocity Technocity is a technology park an under construction integrated township in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India dedicated to electronics, software, and other information technology (IT). It was conceived in 2005 as the fourth phase of developmen ...
—an integrated IT township near Pallippuram. 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. During the 2016-17 financial year, the park recorded IT exports of Rs. 5,000 crores. Technopark is owned and administered by the
Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...
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. 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 Embedded software is computer software, written to control machines or devices that are not typically thought of as computers, commonly known as embedded systems. It is typically specialized for the particular hardware that it runs on and has time ...
development, smart card technology, enterprise resource planning (ERP), process control software design, engineering and
computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...
software development,
IT Enabled Services Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...
(ITES), process re-engineering, animation, and e-business.


History and mission

Then Chief minister of Kerala,
E. K. Nayanar Erambala Krishnan Nayanar (9 December 191919 May 2004) was an Indian Communist politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M). He served three terms as the Chief Minister of Kerala (1980–1981, 1987–1991 and 1996–2001) fo ...
visited the Apple facility in the United States in 1989. This led to form Technopark, India's first IT park and still remains the largest in India. Nayanar laid the foundation stone on 1990, after it was registered under the Travancore Cochin Scientific and Charitable Societies Act. As of 2020, the IT park employs 70,000 people and provide indirect employment to lakhs. 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. On 31 March 1991, the foundation stone for Technopark was laid by
E K Nayanar Erambala Krishnan Nayanar (9 December 191919 May 2004) was an Indian Communist politician of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M). He served three terms as the Chief Minister of Kerala (1980–1981, 1987–1991 and 1996–2001) fo ...
, Chief Minister of Kerala, at a ceremony presided over by
K R Gowri Amma K. R. Gouri (14 July 1919 – 11 May 2021), born Kalathilparambil Raman Gouri, commonly known as Gouri Amma, was an Indian politician from Alappuzha in central Kerala. She was one of the most prominent leaders of the Left movement in India. Bo ...
, Minister for Industries. Technopark was formally dedicated to the nation by the then Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, in November, 1995. 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 "Thejaswini", on 22 February 2007, Technopark became the largest IT Park in India. After that, Leela Group has built a facility, "Leela Infopark", that hosts MNCs like
Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...
, Oracle Corporation, D+H, RM Education, and Zafin.


Socio-economic impact

Technopark has become the single largest source of employment in Kerala, with over thirty thousand people directly working in the facility.


Workforce

Technopark hosts about 460 companies, and a workforce that numbers more than 63,000 personnel, in the IT and ITES sectors: companies such as Allianz–Cornhill, Ernst & Young, Infosys, Navigant India, Oracle Corporation,
QuEST Global Quest Global (Formerly Quality Engineering & Software Technologies) provides end to end global product engineering services in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. The company ...
,
RR Donnelly R.R. Donnelley is an American Fortune 500 integrated communications company that provides marketing and business communications, commercial printing, and related services. Its corporate headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois, United States ...
, SunTec Business Solutions, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),
Tata Elxsi The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
,
Toonz Animation Toonz is a 2D animation software program. The base application is currently managed by Dwango as open-source software under the name OpenToonz. An extended commercial variant for professional individuals and studios, Toonz Premium, is being de ...
, and
UST Global UST, formerly known as UST GLOBAL, is a provider of Digital transformation, digital technology and transformation, information technology and services, headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. Stephen Ross founded UST in 1998 in L ...
, as well as
Finastra Finastra is a financial software company headquartered in London, England.H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R Block operates approximat ...
, IBS Software Services, Nissan Global Digital Hub, RM Education,
Envestnet Envestnet, Inc. is an American financial technology corporation which develops and distributes wealth management technology and products to financial advisors and institutions. Their flagship product is an advisory platform that integrates the ...
, TechMahindra and Way.com.


Institutions

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. Portals for
computational chemistry Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry that uses computer simulation to assist in solving chemical problems. It uses methods of theoretical chemistry, incorporated into computer programs, to calculate the structures and properties of m ...
and agricultural information dissemination are among its areas of focus.  IIITM–K is located at present in Park Centre. The
Asian School of Business Asian School of Business is an AICTE ( All India Council for Technical Education) approved business school located in Technocity West, Pallipuram, Trivandrum, Kerala. India. The institution was established in 2005. Its aim is to facilitate an ...
(ASB) used to have its flagship post-graduate management programme in Technopark, before moving it to its own 16 Acre
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, constructio ...
-certified campus in 2011. 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 Senapathy "Kris" Gopalakrishnan is an Indian billionaire businessman who is recognized as a global business and technology thought leader for his role in growing the IT services industry worldwide. He co-founded Infosys, where he served as the ...
.


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

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 Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...
, the Nila, the
Chandragiri Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headq ...
, the Gayathri,
Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...
, and the Thejaswini, the seventh building, which was commissioned in February 2007, with over and 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 . , , 4 , , 100% , - ! style="text-align:left;", IBS Campus , 4 to 10, , 450 , , 2, , 100% , - ! style="text-align:left;", Leela Info Park / Carnival Technopark , 14, , 460 , , 6 , , 100% , - , - ! style="text-align:left;",
Quest Global Quest Global (Formerly Quality Engineering & Software Technologies) provides end to end global product engineering services in the Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Energy, Hi-Tech, Medical Devices, Rail and Semiconductor industries. The company ...
Towers , 7, , 400 , , 6 , , 100% , - ! style="text-align:left;" , IIITM Kerala !4 ! !4 !100% , - , colspan="5" style="text-align:left;" , ''N/A indicates no information available'' , - , colspan="5" style="text-align:left;" , ''10 sq ft.=~1 m2.'' 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 convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...
, 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 An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
, including
Reliance Infocomm Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) was an Indian mobile network provider headquartered in Navi Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G and 4G data services. In February 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy as it was unable to sell asse ...
,
STPI Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) is an S&T organization under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) engaged in promoting IT/ ITES Industry, Innovation, R&D, Start-ups, Product/ IP creation in the field of emergin ...
, BSNL, Bhari, and
VSNL Tata Communications Limited (previously known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) is an Indian telecommunications company. It was previously a government- owned-telecommunications service provider and under the ownership of Department of Teleco ...
. 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 Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) was an Indian mobile network provider headquartered in Navi Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G and 4G data services. In February 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy as it was unable to sell asse ...
—has its FALCON global cable system at Thiruvananthapuram, providing direct connectivity to the
Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipela ...
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. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
,
U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and other countries, in North America, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia, and
Asia Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isl ...
.


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. This facility has given rise to over 47 successful ventures, many of whom have expanded by taking up space elsewhere in Technopark. T-BIC currently has . (800 sq m.) at Park Centre, and this is being expanded with another . (1000 sq m.) in the newest Technopark building, ''Thejaswini''. One of the latest companies started at T-BIC is Entiresoft Technologies Private Limited.


Expansion and new projects


Phase II

Technopark has acquired of land, for its Phase II expansion. * Out of this, has been earmarked for Infosys and for
UST Global UST, formerly known as UST GLOBAL, is a provider of Digital transformation, digital technology and transformation, information technology and services, headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. Stephen Ross founded UST in 1998 in L ...
. ** Infosys is planning to create up to of space to eventually accommodate up to 15,000 professionals. It plans to set up in the first phase. **
UST Global UST, formerly known as UST GLOBAL, is a provider of Digital transformation, digital technology and transformation, information technology and services, headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, United States. Stephen Ross founded UST in 1998 in L ...
was to set up a campus to be completed by 2015. of space was to be completed by January 2012. Work on the campus was started on 24 October 2007. * Tata Consultancy Services has been allotted within the campus for their software development centre. This is in addition to the of land allotted to them for setting up their new training centre—Peepul Park. * IBS Software Services is constructing a office on of land. The first phase of the campus was inaugurated on 23 October 2007. *
Tata Elxsi The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
Limited, which is the product design arm of the US$68 billion
Tata Group The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
, has taken on which to build its design and development centre. The first phase of the campus was commissioned on 7 September 2007. * 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

Technopark has completed acquisition of 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 hybrid IT-and-residential park as part of Technopark Phase III. 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. 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 of floor space on of land, as a part of Phase 3.


Phase IV expansion – Technocity

The fourth phase of Technopark is also referred to as the "Technocity" project. It involves a mixed use—IT,
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used by ...
, nanotechnology, commercial and residential development—spread over of land, about from the present campus. It will be a self-contained IT township with the potential to employ 100,000 people. The expected investment in the project is around Rs 60 billion (over US$1.5 billion), according to 2007 estimates. Once Technocity's land acquisition is complete, Technopark will have an extent of close to , making it one of India's largest IT satellite townships in terms of geographic area, comparable to that of projects like
Mahindra World City Mahindra World City (MWC) is part of the USD 19.4 billion Mahindra Group, which is active in diverse markets including automotive, farm equipment, defense, hospitality, manufacturing, aerospace, retail, finance, real estate, and infrastructure. The ...
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. of the project area has already been acquired. 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.


Special Economic Zones in Technopark

There are three
Special Economic Zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...
s (SEZs) inside Technopark. Each economic zone encompasses one of Phases I, II, or III. 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. 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

The Technopark Adventure Club provides adventure activities to employees of Technopark and their families. It organises activities such as
parasailing Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail w ...
, rock climbing, rappelling, trekking and
camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natur ...
, paragliding. It administers a camp at
Munnar Munnar () is a town and hill station in the Idukki district of the southwestern Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. Munnar is also called the "Kashmir of South Indi ...
, as well as corporate training camps.


Tech-A-Break

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


In popular culture

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

*
InfoPark, Kochi Infopark, Kochi is an information technology park situated in the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. Established in 2004 by the Government of Kerala, the park is spread over of campus across two phases, housing 541 companies which employ more th ...
*
Kazhakoottam Railway Station Kazhakuttam railway station (Code:KZK) is one of the 5 railway stations serving the Indian city of Trivandrum, capital of the state, Kerala. It lies on Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram rail line. Kazhakuttam is currently the 4th most revenue generat ...
*
Techno-lodge A Techno-lodge is a small Information Technology park established by Government of Kerala in a small town or a village in Kerala. Techno-lodges constitute the third tier of the IT infrastructure in Kerala after the three hubs at Thiruvananthapuram ...
* Technopark Kollam


Notes


External links


Technopark.org - Technopark official website
{{Coord, 8.558, 76.881, region:IN_type:landmark, display=title 1990 establishments in Kerala Organisations based in Thiruvananthapuram Science and technology in Thiruvananthapuram Software technology parks in Kerala Government-owned companies of Kerala