Firms outside Kerala-owned IT parks left in lurch

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rent waiver. Moratorium. Fund allocation. While the state government has offered such relief measures to IT companies functioning inside government-owned IT parks, those struggling for survival outside continue to be in the red.Last week, the government announced measures to help companies based in Technopark, Infopark and Cyberpark tide over the economic crisis unfolding in the aftermath of the Covid outbreak. It was decided to waive the rent for the months of April, May and June of companies using up to 10,000 sq.ft of space in government-owned IT parks.

To companies occupying more than 10,000 sq ft, a three-month moratorium was also offered. But these measures are not applicable to companies functioning outside the state-owned parks.As per statistics available with GTech (Group of Technology Companies), over 400 companies are operating outside IT parks in the state, making use of co-working spaces and private buildings.