Kerala Cabinet approves IT Policy 2026

The Kerala Cabinet on Friday approved the State’s Information Technology (IT) policy 2026, with the aim of securing for the State 10% of the IT exports from the country.

One of the major objectives is to triple the availability of IT space in the State through private participation and decentralised growth, and create at least 5 lakh new jobs in IT and allied sectors.

Thrust will be placed on creating an IP-based knowledge industry ecosystem. The State will focus on achieving a 5-10% share of the Indian economy in high-tech sectors such as space, aerospace, defence, electronics, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and genomics. The policy sets a target to increase the number of start-ups in the State to 20,000.

Looking beyond the IT industry, the policy also focusses on ensuring 100% Internet access to all households in the State by providing fibre optic connectivity. A single user interface will be set up for easy access to all citizen-centric services in the State through an enterprise architecture for government e-services. Predictive and prescriptive governance services will be provided across government departments.

The government will formulate specific technology missions to rapidly transform Kerala into a future-ready digital economy and innovation hub. These missions will focus on developing world-class competitiveness in critical technology areas. For this, Kerala Electronics and Semiconductor Mission (KESM), Kerala AI Mission and Kerala Future Tech Mission (KFTM) will be formed. A Digital Transformation Mission will be formed.

A framework will be implemented for responsible use of data and new technologies. More e-governance applications will be shifted to cloud-based services. The State government will set up data infrastructure for the development of data-driven solution companies. Open source technologies will be adopted for software solutions built with government funding. Community initiatives will be encouraged to develop free and open source software and hardware.

A skill base will be created in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Data Analytics and Bioinformatics by establishing centres of excellence. A comprehensive cybersecurity law will be enacted. Steps will be taken to promote inclusiveness in the IT workforce. Digital education will be promoted in line with the new era by developing new ICT textbooks for Classes 1 to 10.

Data privacy

Mechanisms and legal frameworks will be created to ensure the privacy of data of citizens, consumers, employers and employees. The practice of various government departments collecting and maintaining citizen and other public information separately will be eliminated and an API facility will be provided to collect and maintain one piece of information in a single system and provide such information to the required government departments and agencies under a controlled manner.

Land pooling system will be implemented for creating more IT parks. Labour laws will be simplified. A critical infrastructure fund will be established for the smooth functioning of IT parks, to combat natural disasters and epidemics. Coworking infrastructure, angel networks and micro venture capital (VC) translation centers will be established for start-ups.

The policy also envisages capital subsidy and other incentives for development and measures to create an enabling environment for the IT industry.