Change likely at the helm of Kerala IT parks

A change is likely at the helm of Kerala IT Parks and the Kerala Startup Mission as the current CEO John. M. Thomas has expressed his desire to the State government be relieved from his position citing personal reasons.

Bishwanath Sinha, Additional Chief Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology Department, told The Hindu that the government has not yet taken a decision on his request.

“I have expressed a desire to be relieved before the contract expiry, as I need to join my family in the United States,” said Mr.Thomas.

Though there have been rumours that external pressures from a bar hotel owner regarding pub licenses within the IT parks had led to his resignation, Mr.Thomas refuted these.

“This is not true. Actually, the government has proactively sought inputs from industry leaders and IT parks regarding the opening of pubs/bars in IT parks. To the best of my knowledge, the policy has not been finalised by the government. So, it is really premature to have any discussion in this regard,” Mr.Thomas told The Hindu.

The likely change at the helm of the three IT parks in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode comes at a time when the State government is making a major push in the sector, with an aim to double IT exports in the next five years and generate at least two lakh new job opportunities. On the anvil are plans for further development of the Technopark, Infopark and Cyber Park as well as development of IT corridors parallel to the National Highway 66, beginning from the existing IT parks.

The government is expected to take a decision on Mr.Thomas’s request after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan returns from the U.S. next week. It may also revert to the earlier arrangement of having separate CEOs for the three IT parks, instead of one.