THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major step towards technological empowerment of the MSME sector, Technopark today exchanged a land lease agreement with the Development Commissioner of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME), to set up an MSME Technology Centre at Technopark Phase IV (Technocity), Thiruvananthapuram.
As per the agreement, around 9.50 acres of land in Technocity will be leased out for a period of 90 years to establish a Technology Centre with the primary focus to support industries particularly MSME through providing access to advanced manufacturing technologies, offering opportunities for technical skill development to youth and providing technical and business advisory support.
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Col Sanjeev Nair (Retd), CEO, Technopark, and Prakash G S, Joint Director and Head of Office, MSME DFO, Thrissur, Ministry of MSME, exchanged the lease agreement in the presence of Rathan U Kelkar IAS Secretary, E& IT, at Technopark here.
The facility, being developed under the TCEC (Technology Centres and Extension Centres) scheme of the Ministry, will augment the overall digital ecosystem of Kerala by providing access to advanced technologies, skill training, common facilities, technical support and business services to MSMEs.
Congratulating Technopark and MSME on the agreement, Kelkar said the Technology Centre is likely to change the landscape of the capital city and also the lives of people especially the startups and entrepreneurs, who will be major beneficiaries of the Centre.
Kelkar said Technopark is a leader in facilitating the state in the digital arena and giving the ecosystem the support required for the growth of IT and ITES in the state. “These kinds of initiatives are relevant to the industry and fulfil the objectives of Technopark. Through the Centre, the stakeholders can contribute to the society and that kind of holistic development is needed from the Technology Centre,” Kelkar added.
Terming it as a momentous occasion for Technopark, Sanjeev Nair said Phase IV is one of the largest land parcels of Technopark and it is evolving as an emerging technology park with a perfect digital ecosystem burgeoning there.
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Sanjeev Nair said the Technology Centre, the second such facility in Kerala after Kochi, will be offering manufacturing capability of prototype development, training and skill for MSME and startups, paving the way for the growth of the ecosystem.
Prakash said it is the commitment of the Prime Minister to the nation to set up 20 Technology Centres across India for the MSME sector. Noting its vital contribution to the economy, Prakash added that there are more than six crore MSMEs in the country contributing to about 30 per cent of the GDP and 45 per cent in the export sector.
Prakash said more than 11 crore people are employed in the MSME sector, but a key constraint faced by them is that they can’t afford rapid technology adoption and development.
“Through the Technology Centres, they get access to the latest technologies. Based on the requirements of the local industry, facilities like prototype development, training and consultancy services will be integrated into the Centre,” he explained.
Prakash added that since the state capital is gradually transforming into a knowledge-based city, the proposed Centre is going to play a crucial role for vital linkage between MSME and major stakeholders.
G Levin, CEO, KSPACE, said apart from functioning as MSME Technology centre, it will help impart training to youngsters from IT, polytechnic and engineering background in a hi-tech IT domain.
He added that the joint efforts of Technopark, MSME and KSPACE with the government support has paved the way to fast-track the process of execution of lease agreement to commence the project at the earliest.