Kerala aims to create 5 lakh jobs in the information technology sector by 2031, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Tuesday. The state also plans
to capture 10 per cent of India's IT market share and increase the number of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) to 120. He was speaking at the inauguration of the ReCode Kerala 2025 IT Seminar, organised by the Department of Electronics and IT as part of the government's Vision 2031 initiative. The CM also unveiled the draft Vision Document for the Information Technology, Electronics, Semiconductor, and Emerging Technology sectors at the function. Industries Minister P Rajeeve received the document. Vijayan said Kerala needs to expand its IT infrastructure to three crore square feet. Given the limited availability of land, the government is promoting private investment through a land-pooling model to support infrastructure growth, he said. He said that the state would develop data centres, cloud infrastructure sites and satellite IT parks. Sustainable practices would be encouraged in energy use and construction. "Our goal is to train ten lakh skilled youth, create five lakh high-quality jobs, and provide employment for two lakh people in Global Capability Centres," the Chief Minister said. He said the government is considering the creation of new bodies such as the Kerala Future Technology Mission, the Kerala Semiconductor Mission and the Kerala AI Mission to drive innovation and employment. Research in semiconductors will be given priority to help Kerala benefit from advances in the field, he said. "The Maker Village in Kochi, now the country's largest hardware incubator, will soon expand under the Maker Village 2.0 project. The new phase will include regional incubation and research centres in Wayanad, Kannur, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Thrissur and Kottayam," the Chief Miniser said. Vijayan said the state also aims to make Kerala a global centre for Artificial Intelligence. He called for discussions on how technology and AI can make government services more effective and citizen-friendly. Kerala, which once set a model in land reform and education, is now extending that vision to other sectors as well, Vijayan said. The country's first Technopark and its first electronics production company were both established in Kerala. Over the past decade, the state has also set up India's first Digital University and Digital Science Park, he said. "In 2016, Kerala had around 300 startups. Today, that number has grown to 6,400," the Chief Minister said. "Kerala now has one of the most startup-friendly ecosystems in India. Between 2021 and 2023, the startup sector in the state grew by 254 per cent. The country's first Super Fab Lab was also established here," Vijayan said. He added that in the past decade, startups have brought investments worth Rs 6,000 crore into Kerala. The government has sanctioned Rs 50 crore as seed funding to support more than 900 startup ideas at the early stage. Kerala's IT exports are now approaching Rs 1 lakh crore, the Chief Minister said. "Around 150,000 people are currently employed across Technopark, Infopark and Cyberpark. Since 2016, about 66,000 new jobs have been created in the IT sector. Kerala's total IT exports, which stood at Rs 34,123 crore in 2016, have now increased by nearly Rs 90,000 crore, he added.''
