Thiruvananthapuram, March 14 (UNI) The Kerala Government has announced plans to establish eight state-of-the-art campus industrial parks across the State to promote entrepreneurship among students and strengthen collaboration between industries and higher educational institutions.
Developer permits were distributed to eight educational institutions that received approval in the first phase of the initiative during a ‘Developers Conclave’ held in the city.
The project aims to utilise unused land within educational campuses to address the shortage of industrial land and accelerate the commercialisation of innovations emerging from academic research.
The proposed campus industrial parks will be set up in the districts of Kollam, Kottayam, Idukki, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kannur.
State Industries, Law and Coir Minister P. Rajeeve said the campus industrial park initiative would significantly strengthen Kerala’s industrial ecosystem while fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among students.
He said the parks would be developed by utilising vacant land owned by higher educational institutions across the State, helping to overcome the shortage of land for industrial development.
The initiative will also enable the rapid industrial production of new products developed through research activities within educational institutions.
Under the scheme, government and private educational institutions with at least five acres of land—including arts and science colleges, professional colleges, polytechnics and IT institutions—are eligible to apply for establishing campus industrial parks.
A minimum of two acres of land will be required to set up a standard design factory, while the developer permit will be valid for a period of 30 years.
Land granted campus industrial estate developer permits will be eligible for all benefits available under the Kerala Single Window Clearance Board and the Industrial Township Area Development Act, 1999.
Applications must be submitted to the Director of Industries and Commerce through the Directorate’s web portal. The private industrial estate developer permit will be granted by a high-level government committee comprising eight departmental secretaries after examining the applications. The Principal Secretary (Industries) will serve as the chairman of the committee, while the Director of Industries and Commerce will act as the convenor.
For providing common infrastructure facilities such as roads, electricity, drainage, ETP/CETP systems, laboratories, and testing and certification centres, the educational institution acting as the developer will receive financial assistance of ₹20 lakh per acre, up to a maximum of ₹1.5 crore per estate.
In addition, the government will provide Rs1.5 crore for establishing a standard design factory. The financial assistance will be released on a reimbursement basis after the completion of infrastructure development.
