PM Lays Foundation of Country’s First Digital Science Park in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today laid the foundation stone for India’s first third generation Digital Science Park being developed by the Government of Kerala in the state capital, saying that country is pursuing a development model that gives as much emphasis on digital connectivity as on physical connectivity.

Unveiling the Rs 1500-crore project coming up at Technopark Phase IV-Technocity, Modi said developing both the physical connectivity and digital connectivity are essential to ensure the progress of the entire nation based on the goal of “ Ek Bharat, Sresht Bhart” (One India, Great India).

Lauding Kerala’s achievements in education, culture and technological advancements, the Prime Minister said the development of the Digital Science Park will impart further strength to the Digital India project, which has attracted global attention to the technological prowess of the country.

Modi, on a two-day trip to the state, said the digital system prepared by the country, which is a model of ‘developed’ India, has been viewed with awe by the rest of the world. New projects are being implemented in the indigenously created 5G technology and vistas for tracing new digital products are opening now.

He added that irrespective of caste, creed and colour people from all sections of the society are getting the benefits of digital and physical connectivity.

Greeting people of Kerala who just celebrated the Vishu festival, Modi said Kerala’s culture, cuisines and good climate can offer a lot to the world and the G20 meeting held at Kumarakom recently opened the possibilities for the world to explore the state’s riveting diversity.

The prime minister said if Kerala develops, it will also contribute to getting an impetus to the country’s growth.

Speaking at the function at the Central Stadium in the city, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Digital Science Park project marks a major step towards the government’s efforts to accelerate the state’s transformation into a knowledge economy and a modern society that aspires and accepts innovation-based developments.

The project is setting a model for the whole nation. It is significant to note that Kerala is the first state to launch this project just as it pioneered the country’s first technopark and digital university, he said.

“This project comes as part of our efforts to make Kerala a higher education and research hub by developing centres of higher learning in science and technology. The Digital Science Park has been conceived as a world class facility that promotes multidisciplinary innovation”, Vijayan said.

Coming up at a 13.93 acre site as part of the Technopark Phase IV-Technocity and located close to the Kerala University of Digital Sciences Innovation and Technology, (Digital University of Kerala-DUK), the State Government has already allocated Rs 200 crore for the initial works of the Digital Science Park, he said.

In the initial stage, its focus will be on digital industry, digital applications, digital entrepreneurship and deep tech domains. The project has already entered into collaborations with universities of Manchester, oxford and Edinburgh. Activities of the higher research and education institutions and technology-based industries in the state will be also linked to the Digital Science Park.

Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Union Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, State ministers Antony Raju and V Abdurahiman and Member of Parliament Dr. Sashi Tharoor were present.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, who welcomed the gathering, said the PM’s vision for the future is getting reflected in Kerala’s development. While there were only 400-500 startups in India ten years ago, now there are 90,000 startups , a testimony to the vibrancy, energy and confidence among youngsters in the country.

The Digital Science Park project has been conceived as a multi disciplinary cluster-based interactive – innovation zone focused on digital technologies. The project is to be completed in two years.

The Park will develop and leverage on network overlay of communications built over a triple helix involving Universities, industry and government. Initially, Digital Science Park will facilitate industry and business units as well as technology startups from the domains of Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, electronics, smart hardware, sustainable and smart materials.

The park will initially have two buildings with a total area of 2,00,000 sq.ft. The first, on a space of 1.5 lakh square feet, will have five floors, housing Centre of Excellences including research labs and digital incubator, while the second building will house administrative as well as Digital Experience centre.

The Digital Science Park will start its operations from the 10,000 sq.ft space in Kabani located at Technopark Phase IV within next couple of months.