Kerala, a state in Southern India, has launched its second government data centre at the cost of 22.5 Crore Rupees (US$4.5 million) to enable government agencies within the state to offer new services.

Speaking at the launch in the City of Thiruvananthapuram Technopark, Kerala State IT and Industries Minister P K Kunhalikutty said that the new data centre would host government services and applications, and this enable the implementation of new G2G, G2B and G2C services.

“Kerala has to go a long way on the IT front. In the neighbouring state such as Karnataka, it has reached a saturation point and the IT companies are looking at Kerala for investment and the state should reap the maximum out of it,” he commented during his official statement.

Also present at the launch were M A Wahid Member of Legislative Assembly Kerala, K S Srinivas, Special Secretary, IT Dept, Kerala, Shri Sasi Pilacheri Meethal, Associate Director, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Thiruvananthapuram, Elizabeth Sherly, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Kerala and K G Girish Babu, CEO Technopark.

Kerala is now the only state in India to have two data centres of its own dedicated to government usage. The new data centre will also prepare the state for new initiatives in its drive towards fulfilling its vision for 2025, and as a part of the National e-Government Plan (NeGP).

The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, initiated the construction of a 260,000 square feet cyberpark dedicated to software development on the 22nd of January earlier this year, as the state prepares for greater ICT investment in the region.