Kerala encourages NRIs to invest in state

Kochi, Jan 9 (IANS) Kerala has stepped up efforts to encourage NRIs to invest in various sectors of the state, an official said Wednesday.

The government at the 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) being held here Jan 7-9 will Wednesday announce separate facilities for NRIs for investments in the service, industry, electronics and consumer sectors.

After the success of the Technopark-TBI (Technology Business Incubator), the state government is all set for the NRI-TBI, K.C. Chandrasekharan Nair, managing director, Technopark-TBI told IANS.

The TBI identifies potential entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, nurture them through different phases of growth, until the business takes off to a maturity level.

“This is going to be launched with the full support of the centre which has extended an initial funding of Rs.2.5 crore. To start with, we will launch one each at Kochi, Kollam and Kozhikode,” said Nair.

The Technopark-TBI has so far incubated more than 165 start up technology firms in their incubation facilities in the past nine years, with a success rate of over 96 per cent.

“If the Technopark-TBI is for IT, the three NRI-TBI’s would have a larger canvas and would have sectors like the service industry, electronics and other sectors,” the official said.

“We will provide a space which would be around 250 to 300 sq.ft and provide them all the facilities…Besides being a plug and play facility, the members will get an address to start with,” said Nair.

All those who come in and begin their enterprise will have to move out of the centre in three years time.

“We have been getting a good number of inquiries and we felt that the PBD is the place where we could launch this,” said Nair.

IANS 2013-01-09 13:32:02