Kerala to announce AI policy, encourage use of AI in schemes

Kochi: The Kerala government will announce a policy for Artificial Intelligence (AI) this financial year, State Minister for Industries, Law and Coir P Rajeeve said in Kochi on Friday.
He made the major announcement in a declaration presented at the culmination of a two-day International GenAI Conclave.

The dedicated AI policy, complying with the ESG (environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and good governance practices) goals will be announced in tune with the present industrial policy which has identified AI as a priority sector.
The policy will comprise the support measures to enhance the existing infrastructure and create a more futuristic AI ecosystem, the declaration stated.

An AI Cluster-based Industrial Park will be established in the state on a Public-Private-Participation basis in association with various technology and knowledge partners, according to the declaration.

“This will facilitate the creation of a common infrastructure including graphics processing centres, global capability centres and other ecosystem support infrastructure,” the document stated.
Plug and play and incubation facilities will be established in the state in association with anchor investors.

Financial support for startups, MSMEs
As per the new AI policy, the government will provide financial assistance including share capital to startups in the AI segment. Preferential share capital investments of up to Rs 5 crore will be provided by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) to AI entities with a minimum investment of Rs 10 crore.

Scale-up loan support of Rs 1 crore will be provided along with other incentives notified in the industrial policy. Existing MSMEs who are adopting AI technology or AI tools will also be provided with financial incentives.

The conclave declaration said focus groups should be constituted with representatives from existing AI entities, research institutions, associations, and government agencies to ensure wider stakeholder partnerships.

Adoption of AI in various core sectors like marine genome sequencing, tourism, healthcare and IT/ITeS will also be focused with the support of the technology groups.
The government will encourage the usage of AI in various schemes and initiatives of its departments and agencies.

AI tools shall be incorporated into the online mechanism for processing application forms, resolving investor queries, decision making and licensing support by government agencies. Provisions will be set in place to impart skill training in AI as per the requirement of the industry, in collaboration with ASAP, DUK, KTU, CUSAT etc.

A special session for promoting investments from companies in the AI sector will be conducted at the Global Investors Meet scheduled to be held in January 2025. Campaigns will be undertaken to promote investments in the state from companies in the AI sector

The state government has also decided to enhance collaboration with technology major IBM which played a key role in organising the conclave.

Focus on knowledge-based industries
Earlier, attending a session on “Government Initiatives for Investment Promotion”, Minister Rajeeve said the government is focusing on knowledge-based industries to strengthen the ecosystem by attracting investment and creating job opportunities for youth.

“The Industrial Policy 2023 has been adopted by recognising the advantages and limitations of the state. Our major strength is IT-skilled human resources and the Industrial Policy has identified 22 priority sectors like AI, Blockchain, Machine Learning, Big Data Analytics, Robotics, tourism and logistics,” Rajeeve pointed out.

He said that within eight months, the state government has given 22 permits for setting up private industrial parks, describing it as a great achievement.

Rajeeve highlighted the campus industrial parks in colleges and providing grace marks for students as the novel initiatives of the government to strengthen the startup ecosystem.

APM Mohammed Hanish, Principal Secretary, (Industries), who made an elaborate presentation on Kerala’s AI ecosystem, said the Industries Department promotes AI-enabled solutions in key sectors, besides establishing AI Enablement Centres to support SMEs.

In his presentation, Dr Rathan U Kelkar, Secretary, Electronics & IT, said as a forward strategy, Kerala is set to contribute to 10 per cent of India’s IT and electronics industry in the next five years. Also, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN can be attained through digital technologies.

Commenting on Bio-IT, he said the Kerala Genome Data Centre (KGDC) would be the repository of all genetic data of Kerala and it is expected to be the backbone that will connect over 125 Life Sciences institutions in the state. Also, an AI-powered high-capacity data centre is being set up in the Digital University of Kerala.