KCCI bats for creation of IT park in Mangaluru

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Dec 03, 2019:  The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Nanarayan, who is in charge of the IT and BT Department, to help establish an IT park in Mangaluru, which has an abundant pool of talent.

 

In a recent letter to Dr. Narayan, KCCI president Issac Vas said that though Mangaluru, a Tier II city, has a huge IT and ITES talent pool, it lacks adequate job opportunities. The region has over 20 engineering colleges and over 100 non-engineering colleges with thousands of students graduating every year. They are highly committed resources with high productivity, he said.

Mr. Vas noted that even among employees with lateral skills, many prefer to work in Bengaluru as there are no job opportunities in the region. This lack of an IT ecosystem in Mangaluru puts additional pressure on Bengaluru, which the government intends to decongest through the new IT policy. He noted that the Centre for Entrepreneurship Opportunities and Learning, a KCCI initiative supported by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was functioning close to its capacity. Companies incubated for 18 months have to move out, but no commercial space is available outside.

Apart from this, the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) is also fully occupied and the IT enterprises located there have to vacate after their mandatory time, to give space for fresh entities. Even the existing 150-odd IT companies in Mangaluru are facing space crunch and may be forced to migrate to Bengaluru to grow, he said.

All this indicates a dire need for an IT park in Mangaluru with affordable rentals. The park could also help larger IT and ITES to open shop in Mangaluru and use local technical talent, he said. Mr. Vas said a 3.25-acre plot was available at Bluberry Hills, Kuntikana, earmarked by KEONICS for an IT park. The STPI is adjacent to this plot. An IT park may be built at this place in two phases, he suggested.

Courtesy: The Hindu