Technology park in Thiruvananthapuram
Technopark is a technology park in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Established on 18 November 1990 by the Government of Kerala, under chief minister E K Nayanar, it is the largest information technology (IT) park in India in terms of developed area. As of 2015 Technopark has 10 million sq ft (930 thousand m2) of built-up area, and is home to over 400 companies, employing more than 56,000 professionals, and it is still expanding, adding another 37 hectares (91 acres) as part of Phase III expansion, and 423 acres (171 ha) as Technocity—an integrated IT township near Pallippuram.
The policy of economic liberalisation initiated by the government of India in 1991, and the rapid growth of the global software industry during the 1990s, substantially contributed to this growth. During the global financial crisis of 2007–2010, the park saw a period of reduced growth in 2009-10, when exports were only 2.8% more than the previous year. During the 2016-17 financial year, the park recorded IT exports of Rs. 5,000 crores.
Technopark is owned and administered by the Government of Kerala and is headed by a chief executive officer. In addition to this, it has a Governing Council and a Project Implementation Board, both of which include top officials of the government. Administrative offices, including that of the CEO, are housed in the Park Centre building. Technopark also hosts a Technology Business Incubation Cell under Kerala Startup Mission.
Technopark houses domestic firms, joint ventures, and subsidiaries of foreign companies engaged in a wide variety of activities, which include embedded software development, smart card technology, enterprise resource planning (ERP), process control software design, engineering and computer-aided design software development, IT Enabled Services (ITES), process re-engineering, animation, and e-business.