IT Policy 2011 - Draft

KeralaITPolicy2011Draft

Contents
1 Introduction 2 Vision & mission 3 IT Growth drivers 4 ICT in Government 4.1Policy Drives 4.2Transparency Drives 4.3Service Delivery Drives 5 ICT for Masses 6 ICT in Industry

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1 Introduction
1.1 TheStateofKeralahasalwaysbeenarolemodelforallotherstateswhenit comestotheutilizationofICTtechnologiestoreachouttoitscitizensand thebusinesscommunity.Anumberofinitiativestakenupinthisregardhas enabledtheKeralaStatetobeattheforefrontinimplementingICTprojects andaleaderstateinEgovernance.TheICTinfrastructurethathasalready beenbuiltupliketheStateDataCenter,KeralaStateWideAreaNetwork, Mobile Service Delivery Platform, FRIENDS, Akshaya (CSC), Citizen call Center etc. will provide the perfect platform for the State to take its functioning to the next higher level of Governance, a connected and transactionalGovernment,withenhancedcitizengovernmentinteraction. 1.2 Government of Kerala acknowledge the critical importance of Information Technology as an instrument for the State's overall development and remainsdeeplycommittedtoitsdissemination,bothasacrucialengineof economic growth and as a tool for increasing productivity, speed & transparency in governance and improved quality of life for the common man.TheStateGovernmentannounceditsfirstITPolicyin1998.Itwas followedbytheITPoliciesin2001and2007,whichprovidedcomprehensive support for the further development of this sector. These policies have helpedKeralaachieveuniquedistinctionsasapreferredIT/ITESinvestment destinationandalsoaleaderinEgovernance. 1.3 TheGovernmentofKeralanowintendstoenhancethecapacitiesandwould liketoputtothebestuse,theinfrastructurethathasbeenputinplace,and tokeeppacewiththechangingtechnologiesandtobemoreproactive;a newITpolicyisthusbeingputinplace. 1.4 TheGovernmentofKeralaplanstodevelopKeralaITbrandinitiative,to drivethestatetowardsthestatusofaholisticandpreferredITdestination.

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1.5

TherawmaterialfortheIT/ITESindustryisthereadyavailabilityofskilled talent pool, so in order to establish that the new policy gives thrust in promotinginnovativemeasurestoenhancetheskillsetofitscitizens,with public private initiatives in the form of finishing schools, e/mlearning, technologybusinessincubators(TBI)soastoinculcateanentrepreneurial cultureamongstitscitizen.

2. Vision & mission

2.1 TheStateofKeralarecognizesthestrategicimportanceofInformationand CommunicationTechnologyasakeycomponentofitsdevelopmentagenda. 2.2 The vision statement for the States IT Policy is to create a "Knowledge basedeconomywithGlobalOpportunities"andpositionIT@Keralaasthe most preferred IT/ITES investment destination in India and to attract investmentinICT. Governmentwillfocuson
LeveragingICTtoimprovethedeliveryofpublicservices. Eliminationofthedigitaldivideandbringeverycitizen,everyhomeand

school,everybusinessandadministrationonline.
Creation

of a digitally literate Kerala transforming it into an

entrepreneurshipsocietyfromthatofasalariedsociety.
EnsuringthatITdeploymentissociallyinclusive,buildcitizenstrustand

strengthensocialcohesion.

3.
3.1

IT Growth drivers
ThedevelopmentsmadeincreatingworldclassICTinfrastructurespread

acrossthestate,accomplishedthroughthehubandspokemodelcentredaround majorcitieslikeThiruvananthapuram,KochiandKozhikodehasmadeKeralaone
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of the bestnetworked States in the country. 99.9% of the State has achieved qualitytelecomconnectivitythrough: VSNLsInternationalCommunicationGateway,with2highspeedsubmarine cablelandings(SEAMEWE3andSAFE)offering15gbpsbandwidth.

Optical Fibre connectivity up to the grassroot level makes high quality, reliablebandwidthavailableinanypartoftheState.

3.2

Kerala possess quality, cost effective and highly skilled human resource

base, and coupled with the high rates of new technology adoption makes it a favouritedestinationfortheICTinvestors,anothermotivatorforchoosingisKerala bytheinvestorsisthefactthatKeralaenjoystheuniquedistinctionofbeingthe firstStateinIndiatoachievethetriadof100%literacy100%eliteracyandalso 100%teledensity. 3.3 Having a strong eGovernance infrastructure is a key enabler for ICT

industrytothriveintheStateandisoneamongtheearlyadoptersandrankedas leader state. This has paved the way for establishing a SMART Government throughimprovedtransparencyandincreasedefficiencyofbusinesstogovernment andcitizentogovernmentinteractions. 3.4 OneofthedifferentiatorsKeralaoffersisthecostfactor.Thestartupand

operational costs are one of the lowest in India less than 50 per cent and the rentals/realestatecostslessthan60percentofthoseinothermajorITparksinthe country.Thepowerandwatertariffsarealsooneofthelowestinthecountry.Alow costoflivingmeans,lowercosttocompanyperemployee. 3.5 High mobile penetration, nearly 100% makes the State best suited for

mobileGovernancebasedapplications.TheStatealsoholdstheuniquedistinction among Indian states, to have pioneered the use of mobile technologies in governanceandwaslistedachampionbythelatestASSOCHAMDelloitereporton
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Mvas,thisarenaalsoopensupnewvistasforinnovationsandinvestmentsfor enhancing the delivery of public services and a paradigm shift in the way governmentinteractswithbusinessandcitizens.

4.

ICT in Government

4.1TheGovernmentaimstotransformitselfintoeGovernmentandtobecome No1stateinthefieldofeGovernanceby:
Mandatingappropriationof3%ofplanfundforeGovernanceinitiatives

anddepartmentalmodernizationinalldepartments
Promoting eDelivery of services through CSCs, which enables the

servicestobeaccessedbycommonmaninhislocality.
24X7ubiquitousdeliveryofservicestothecitizens. Focusing

on Government Process Reengineering and change

managementfortheeffectivedeliveryofcitizencentric(G2C)services.
Free and Open Source Software will be used in all eGovernance

projectstothemaximumextentpossible.TheIPRandSourcecodeofall eGovernance applications should be vested with Government. This enablestheknowledgesharing,bringsdownthetotalcostofownership andavoidsvendordependency.
TheStatewillstructureitsegovernanceprojectsalignedtotheNational

eGovernance Plan and ensure compliance with eGovernance standardsofGovernmentofIndia.Itwillensureinteroperabilityamong applicationswithinthestateandalsoacrossthecountry.

Focuswillbegiventoprovidefeasibleinformationalandtransactional

services through mobile technology and adopt measures to enhance

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mobilepenetrationwithinthestatesoastoachieveanywhereanytime deliveryofservices.
The Government plans to deliver new generation enhanced mobile

services to its citizens enabling ubiquitous access by utilizing new wireless technologies and tools to ride the Next Generation Networks viz.,3G/4G,BWAetcwhichisgettingdeployedintheState.
ConstitutionofSpecialPPPCellinGovernmentforaspeedyandsingle

windowclearanceofsuchprojects. 4.2PolicyDrives 4.2.1TheGovernmentaffirmsitscommitmenttoenvironmentalprotectionby ensuring proper ewaste management. The condemnation of obsolete IT equipment disposal shall be made in accordance with ewaste management directivesfromGOI. 4.2.2 Facilitate sharing of data acrossdepartmentsto establish aconnected government and also as to provide the citizens with a seamless view of Government. 4.2.3 The Government will promote increased use of new and evolving technologies such as cloud computing to optimal use of resources and to reducethecost. 4.2.4 Government Process Reengineering (GPR) Policy aiming at radical redesignofGovernmentprocessestoachievepathbreakingimprovementsin efficiencyofgovernance.FocuswillbeonGPRandchangemanagementfor theeffectiveimplementationofcitizencentric(G2C)services. 4.2.5 Social Media Policy: With the advent of social media, oneway communication has become history it has been the age of interactive communicationonarealtimebasis.Anactivepresenceofthegovernmentin socialmediaisthewayforward.

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4.2.6 To make web content accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, learningdisabilities,cognitivelimitations,limitedmovement,speechdisabilities, photosensitivityetctheGovernmentwillensurethatallgovernmentwebsites createdaftertheeffectivedateofthePolicymustcomplywiththeWCAG2.0 Level AA., All websites created before the effective date of the Policy must complywithWCAG2.0LevelAAwithin3yearsfromtheeffectivedateofthe Policy.Andwithin3yearsfromtheeffectivedateofthePolicyallMalayalam contentonwebsitesmustuseonlyUnicodecharacters.Toprovideelectronic accessibilitytothedisabledgovernmentshallensurethatthecomputersystem usedbyapersonwithdisabilityattheworkplacewillhaveappropriateassistive technology required by the person with disability within one year from the effectivedateofthePolicy. 4.2.7 Security and Quality audit shall be mandated in all egovernance applicationstoensuresecurityandprivacyofcitizendata. 4.3TransparencyDrives 4.3.1TheGovernmentaimstodeliveruptodateinformationontheactivitiesof thegovernmentonitswebsite.AllGovernmentOrdersandGazettenotifications will be made available in the State Portal asand when theyare issued. All ContractsandAgreementssignedbytheGovernmentwillalsobeavailablein theStatePortal.TheGovernmentwillmakesurethatitswebsitesareactively maintained and kept updated. Websites will be bilingual in Malayalam and English. 4.3.2 The Government will promote the use of emails and other new communication facilities to enhance speed of communication in various GovernmentdepartmentsandsemiGovernmentorganizations.Emailidswillbe provisionedtoallgovernmentemployeesandacommunicationplatformwillbe builtonemergingtechnologies.

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4.3.3 The Right to Information portal will allow the citizen to file online RTI request.AllthegovernmentdepartmentswillbeintegratedwithRTIportalfor thespeedyresolutionofRTIcomplaints.TheGovernmentwillalsotakeupICT enabledprogrammesforefficientflowofinformationbetweencitizenandthe Government. 4.3.4Thegovernmentwillensureasingleunifiedendtoendelectronicplatform for the procurement of Goods, works and services through PKI enabled workflowsinprocurementtransactions.ThiscentralizedeProcurementsolution willhelptoremoveirregularityintheentireprocurementprocessandprovide transparencyandefficiencyinprocurementinalldepartments. 4.4ServiceDeliveryDrives 4.4.1 Any time anywhere transactional eservices portal integrated with e paymentfacilitywillbemadeavailabletothecitizenthroughthestateportaland ServiceDeliveryGatewayMMPofNeGP. 4.4.2Eformsandepaymentgatewaywillbemadefunctionalwhichwillenable thecitizentopayforthegovernmentservicesonline. 4.4.3Inordertoincreasetheparticipationofthelocalpeopleincontributing local specific information to the web and to promote the use of Malayalam language, Government will give priority to development of technologies for enabling Malayalam and promoting the same while delivering government servicesonline. 4.4.4Servicelevelswillbeformulatedforalleservicesandmonitoredforits strictcompliancetoensureeffectivedeliveryofservices. 4.4.5EnrolmentofcitizenstotheNationalUIDdatabase,willbetakenupina phasedmanner,integrationofexistingegovernanceapplicationswiththatof UIDisalsoplanned.

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4.4.6 Initiatives will be taken for fostering strategic collaboration with other countries for bringing in the best practices in egovernance and aslo in establishing bi/multinational funds for R&D and fostering innovation in innovativeproductideas. 4.4.7Basedontheexperiencegainedfromtheactualimplementationofcitizen centric egovernance projects, many States and Countries are requesting consultancy support from KS IT Mission, its planned to provide consultancy servicestootherStatesandCountriesinICTrelatedprojectimplementation.

5. ICT for Masses

5.1SpecialICTProgramswillbedevelopedtocatertotheneedsofspecial sectionsofsociety,appropriateinterventionswillbetakenupinthisdirection, whichincludes; ICT enabled employability skill development and Rehabilitation of the EndosulfanvictimsintheState. Needsandgrievancesofdifferentlyabledandtribalpopulation. Women empowerment with special focus on socially & economically backwardcommunities. 5.2 Make sharable governmentdata available to public forgenuineuses like analysis, research, legal purposes etc through APIs, Web Services etc enhancingthepowerofRTIfurther. 5.3Facilitatecitizenstomakegovernmentpaymentsroundtheclockinurban areasthroughautomatedbillpaymentsystem. 5.4AvailabilityofQualityHumanResourcesisoneofthekeyrequirementsforIT industriestoestablishandstartoperationsquickly.Oneofthereasonsbehind KeralasreasonablesuccessinITistheavailabilityofmanpower.Ofthe11%
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which Kerala contributes to the national IT pool only 3% could be gainfully employedwithinKerala.Thankstothelargenumbersoftheprivatetechnical institutions,whichare,comingupacrossthestatetheannualoutputoftechnical personalhasincreasedconsiderably.Howeverthequalityofthemanpowerboth intermsofcommunicationskillsanddomainknowledgeisnotfounduptothe mark.Itishencenecessarytoaddressthisproblemurgently.Qualityoffacultyin the institutions is critical to improve the quality of students passing out. This necessitates encouraging more students to take up post graduation through attractivefellowshipsandalsotokeepthesalarylevelsandcareerprospectsas attractiveasinthecorporatesector.Lecturesbyspecialists,whichcannotbe doneinalltheinstitutions,couldbearrangedthroughvideolinkingfacilityfroma control point to all the institutions. Government will establish Government IndustryAcademiataskforcetoidentifyknowledgepartnerstodevelopcontent forthenewcurriculum. 5.5Inordertoensureasyllabusandcurriculumalignedwiththeskillsetneeds oftheITindustry,itisrequiredtoincludeindustryrepresentationsinthesyllabus committeeinuniversities.RegularqualityimprovementProgramwillbecarried outforthefaculty. 5.6ITFinishingschoolswithunifiedsyllabusandstandardswillbeestablished to enhance the employability skills, communication skills and technological skills.PPPinvestmentswillbeencouragedinestablishingITfinishingschools intheState. 5.7TheAkshayaecentresestablishedbytheState,withover2300outletswill inadditiontoregulareliteracyserviceswilldelivercareerandentrepreneurship skilldevelopmentprogrammestotheruralpopulaceandwillbecontinuously addingmoreandmoregovteservicestoitspalette,asandwhenitgetsrolled out by the Government, thus bridging the urbanrural divide in access to informationandeservices.

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5.8GovernmentwillsetupaoneshopstopIntegratedGovernmentCallCenter (IGCC) to enable the citizen ti interact with the Government for accessing variousservicesandtolodgegrievances. Mutimodalaccesswillenablethe citizentocommunicateusinganyofthecommunicationchannels(VoiceLand line Fixed/Wireless and Mobile Phones), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Internet, email or paper to interact with Government. It will also act as a centralized help desk providing the citizens with guidance/information on variousservicesandschemeofferedbytheGovernment.

6 ICT in Industry
6.1Tobecomeforerunnerandtodevelopthestate,asthemostpreferredIT destination in the country, Government is committed to create a sustainable ecosystemconduciveforsustainedgrowthICTinthestate. 6.2Thrustwillbegivenforthecreationandimprovementofworldclasscivil infrastructurelikeroadsbetweenITHubs,cities,airportsonacontinuousbasis, whicharenecessaryforattractingglobalinvestmentsKerala. 6.3LeveragetherecenttrendsofITfirmstomovetowardsTierIIandTierIII citiesbyprovidingattractiveincentivesandconcessions. 6.4 Domestic entrepreneurship will be encouraged by providing incubation facilitiesandneedbasedfinancialassistance. 6.5 Utilize all the resources and opportunities available from GOI for the developmentofITinthestatelikeHightechHardwareManufacturing. 6.6Forthecreationofqualityhumanresources,ITeducationwillbegivenmore emphasisandpromotethecreationofawarenessinITatschoollevel.

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6.7ICTtoolswillbeappliedtoalltheaspectsofMSMEsfunctionaldomainsand willmakethemgloballycompetitive. 6.8 Government will ensure that IT Parks established in the State will be equippedwithgreenandecofriendlywithenergyefficientlayoutsandinteriorsto provideworldclass,costeffectiveworkspacetotargetanassortmentofsmall, midsizeandlargeIndianandmultinationalIT/ITeScompaniestosetuptheir operationswithinITParks. 6.9 Government will simplify labour laws to suit the needs of IT & ITES companiesthroughextensivelegalreformstoovercomethebarrierspertaining toemploymentintheITindustry.GeneralPermissionwillbegrantedtoallIT& ITEScompaniestohave24x7operations. 6.10Keepinginviewthehighliteracyamongthewomenofthestate,highsex ratioandalsothestatesendeavortopromoteSC,STs,specialincentivesinthe formofsubsides,loansetc.atconcessionalratethroughGovernmentinstitutions willbeconsidered.Furtherpreferencetothesecategoriesinspaceallotmentin TechnoparksandRuralparkswillalsobeconsidered. 6.11VariousstudiesincludingtherecentCIIPWCreporthaveratedTrivandrum, CochinasthebestoftheTierIIdestinationforICTsector.Thisadvantagehas been achieved by virtue of availability of quality manpower, economy of operations, good connectivity of Kerala cities and general living standards of Kerala.ToleveragecontinuousITgrowthitisimportanttohighlighttheunique selling preposition of Kerala IT and also simultaneously to work on the bottlenecks especially the issues of road and rail connectivity, availability of suitable recreation avenues and any other hardships which deters industrial growth. The Government intends to conduct regularly aggressive marketing, mediacampaign,roadshows,withspecificfocusgiventotradedevelopment andbranding,intheinternationalandNationalITmarketstomakewellknown thelocationadvantagesofKeralatotheprospectiveinvestors.

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6.12TheGovernmentaimstomakeKeralaacosmopolitanplaceforworking. This willbring morepeople from outsideKerala and outside India to workin Kerala.ThiswillinturnmakeKeralapreferredITdestination.TheGovernment alsowantstobringthelocaltalentbacktoKerala. 6.13TheGovernmentenvisagesremovingtheinfrastructurebottleneckswhich can hamper the growth of IT industry. Encouraging development of the supporting infrastructure will be in a way towards it. The Government encouragestheinvestmentsinPPPmodeforbringingworldclassschoolsand hospitals,whichcanincreasethedemandforKeralaasanITdestination. 6.14TobolstergrowthandinvestmentinICT,itisnecessarytocontinuewiththe current financial incentives schemes offered to ICT companies by the Governmentandalsoaddnewschemeswithspecialfinancialincentivesworked outforlargerinvestors,forthesmallerandmediumones.Theexistingsubsidy fortheirinvestmentwillbecontinuedatthesamelevel. Specialincentiveswill also be given for MSMEs for attaining CMMI certifications of Level two and above. 6.15TheGovernmentwantstopromotethegrowthofmicroITfirmsoperating fromhomes.ITasacottageindustrycanpercolatedowntoremotevillagesand homes.TheITparkscanguidethepeopleinsettingupsmallscaleITfirmsand handholdthemsothatitwillencouragesocialentrepreneurship. 6.16 The promotion of such micro IT industries will result in equitable developmentoftheState.MoreincentivesareplannedforencouragingmicroIT firms.TheexistingincentivepackagesforITinvestmentsandmegaprojectswill createanamicableenvironmentfortheoveralldevelopmentofthestate. 6.17InformationTechnologyhascontributedforthecreationofalargenumber of First generation entrepreneurs in the State. The Technology Business IncubationcenterwhichrunsincollaborationwithDepartmentofScienceand Technology is one of the successful models and has contributed for entrepreneurshippromotioninabigway.Whilewooingbiginvestorstoinvestin
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Keralaandstartoperationsisonewayofachievinglargescaleemploymentthe alternatemethodofpromotingentrepreneurshipbyprovidingsuitablefacilitiesis anequallyeffectivemethodwhichhasadvantageofconvertingjobseekersinto jobcreators.Thisisidealforastatelikeourswithqualitymanpowerandcreative ideas. The Government will promote the incubation initiatives and space availableinITparksinKeralacouldbeusedforpromotingentrepreneurshipand creatingITjobs.TechnologyBusinessIncubationfacilitieslikefurnishedspace, mentoringsupport,networkopportunity,LabFacility,IEDCcenters,andsupport forTechnologyTransferisplanned. 6.18TherapidgrowthofITindustrieshaveledtorealestatepricestoskyrocket and increased attrition and infrastructure choking, forcing companies to look beyondtheleaderlocationsviz,Thiruvananthapuram,KochiandKozhikkode. Rural IT hubs can help address these issues and will give more visibility to smallertownsalsoasaninvestmentdestination. 6.19InordertoreapthebenefitsoutoftheCentralGovernmentsplantogivea bigpushtothehardwaremanufacturingsectorbywayofattractiveincentives andotherpackages.Keralasindustrialpolicyencouragestheestablishmentof ecofriendlymanufacturingunitsthatchurnoutofhitechproducts.Sincethese industriesarebynaturenonpolluting,requiringlesslandarea,itissuggested thatthepollutingindustriesmayberelocatedtoplacesoutsidethecity/municipal limitsandthelandthusreclaimedmaybeallottedtonewgenerationenterprises especiallyecofriendlyhardwaremanufacturingunitsbybothprivatesectorand publicsector 6.20 The Government shall work closely with industry associations like NASSCOMM,MAIT,CII,andGTECHandotherstoensureacoordinatedand smoothindustryGovernmentinterfaceonallmattersofcommonconcern,forthe vibrantdevelopmentoftheITindustryintheState. 6.21Keralabeinganecologicallyfragilestatemeasurestopreventhazardous developmentthatposeathreattoenvironment,willbeadopted.
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6.22Promotetheconstructionofgreenandecofriendlyinfrastructuretoprevent theharmfuleffectonenvironment.

7. Incentives
7.1FiscalIncentives. 7.1.1 FiscalincentivesareapplicabletoalleligiblecompaniesoperatinginKerala otherthanthoselocatedwithinanSEZ 7.1.2 Fiscalincentivesshallremaininforceforaperiodof5yearsw.e.fXXXXx 7.1.3 Fiscalincentivesforeligiblecompanieswillbeasfollows a) StandardInvestmentSubsidy30%ofFixedCapitalInvestmentsubjecttoa limit of Rs. 15 lakhs for companies located in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts. For companies located outside the districts of ThiruvananthapuramandErnakulamtheapplicableSISwillbe40%ofFixed CapitalInvestmentsubjecttoalimitofRs.25lakhs. 7.2OtherIncentives 7.2.1.ITindustryunits,GovernmentITparks,certifiedITparksandAkshayae centres are entitled to power tariff under HD1 industry and LT 1V industry dependingonthesupplyofandconnectedloadtotheITindustry. 7.2.2. FARintheGovernmentandcertifiedITparksshallbemaintainedatthe leveloffive. a) ITunitsinGovernmentITParks: b) Exemption from stamp duty and registration fees upon executing lease / sale agreementwiththeparkforlease/saleoflandandbuiltupspace. c) Exemptionfromentrytaxforgoodslikemachineequipments,capitalgoodsand constructionmaterialsprocuredforimplementationofinfrastructureprojects 7.2.3 ITinfrastructuredevelopersinGovernmentITParks: a) Exemptionfromstampdutyandregistrationfeeandtransferdutyofland. b) ConcessionsofferedtoGovernmentparkswillbemadeavailable c) PowertariffunderHD1industryandLT1Vindustrydependingonthe supplyofandconnectedload 7.2.4 PrivateITParksthatmeetaminimumsetofstandardsshallbegovernedby the same set of industry enabling regulations that are applicable to GovernmentITParksunlessotherwisespecifiedbytheGovernment.The Government has framed a policy setting the minimum set of standards
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7.2.5

requiredbytheprivateITParkstoqualifyforcertification. AnITsoftwareunitthathasitsregisteredofficeinKeralaandemploysa minimum of 30% of its workforce in its Kerala operations, and otherwise compliant with the tender requirements, shall be entitled to 7.5% price preference on IT software solutions required by Kerala Government / PSUs / Government Bodies. Other conditions remaining the same, they shallbegivenhigherpreference.

7.2.6 AnIThardwareunitthathasitsregisteredofficeinKeralaandemploysa minimum of 30% of its workforce in its Kerala operations, that is either excise paying or ISO certified, and otherwise compliant with the tender requirements, shall be entitled to 10% price preference on IT hardware required by Kerala Government / PSUs / Government Bodies. Other conditionsremainingthesame,theyshallbegivenhigherpreference.

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