Kerala Government Launches Campus Industry Parks in Educational Institutions

Starting campus industry parks in educational institutions around the state, the Kerala government unveiled a plan on Wednesday to solve the state's lack of land available for industrial infrastructure development and the industry-academic divide in Kerala.

Kerala Law and Industries Minister P Rajeeve officially launched the State Industries Department's program, hailing it as a historic endeavour to revolutionise Kerala's industrial landscape. 

The minister said, "Already, 80 educational institutions have expressed their interest in starting campus industry parks and this year, we will be giving permission to 25 of them," adding that this number is not fixed and that more parks will be approved if they are exceptionally promising.
 

The Kerala government's industry and higher education departments mapped the land of educational institutions in the state. The results revealed that many of them had extra land over the space required by the governing bodies. 
 

"In Kerala, the non-availability of land and its high cost are hindrances to the development of industrial infrastructure. So, we explored ideas to find land and came up with the concept of starting campus industry parks," the minister added.
 

"We first consulted industry experts to understand their expectations from the government. We also held discussions at the district level. Through these discussions, we identified the requirements and issues faced by the industry and formulated an industry policy," the minister said.
 

It was decided to launch campus industrial parks in addition to private industry parks, a first for the nation after he mentioned that 22 important industries were appropriate for Kerala's particular requirements.

The parks are not just about industry but also about enhancing academics. Students will be given the option to work in these industrial parks, gaining practical experience that will enrich their academic journey. 
 

"The idea is to commercialise the research topics of the students through these parks, apart from providing hands-on, practical, course-related training to students," the minister said.
 

He added that the parks would be allotted regardless of whether the institution is government, aided, or self-financed

"The only condition is that they must meet the eligibility criteria," the minister said; the government will also provide infrastructure development incentives to these parks, amounting to Rs. 1.5 crore per institution, he added.