Digital Commerce

Digital Commerce

5.1. Policy for e-commerce

The government shall enact a policy for the enablement of growth of ecommerce in the state. This shall cover the rules and regulations on the ecommerce Industry

5.2. Mobile commerce

M-commerce is enabling us to transact commercially from anywhere over the Internet without the use of a PC. M-commerce is the logical continuation of e-commerce and is enabled by the proliferation of smart mobile devices and better connectivity. Government will facilitate this process through enhanced Communications Infrastructure, Applications Infrastructure, and M-commerce Intermediary

5.3. E-business facilitation

Government shall encourage and facilitate the conduct of business processes on the Internet be it B2B or B2G. These include buying and selling, supplies and services; (including government procurement of Goods and services), processing, payments; managing production, collaborating with partners, information sharing and any other business functions. Government shall encourage SMBs to move to a shared infrastructure and Software as a Service to reduce their cost and become more efficient.

5.4. Innovation and entrepreneurship

The Government of Kerala wishes to leverage the developments in IT sector and the startup sphere to kick start the next phase of innovation and entrepreneurship movement in the state. The government wishes to adopt a cognitive approach to innovation and entrepreneurship development. The ability to think critically and to solve problems in scientific and technological contexts is an essential skill for entrepreneurs working to solve society's critical problems. Government wishes to address this through

• 1 Creation of an innovation Ecosystem

• 2 Facilitating the innovation led entrepreneurship especially among students

• 3 Involve Industry /R& D institutions

5.5. Establishing the Technology Innovation Zone

The Kerala Technology Innovation Zone shall be established to cater to the needs of the innovation and entrepreneurial startup ecosystem. This is to ensure that there can be

• Accumulation of critical mass of talent and entrepreneurs

• Connect to the Global ecosystems and Research and innovation networks

• Requisite resources and ambience is available with nimbleness of operations

• Presence of State of the Art labs and other Infrastructure

5.6. Grand Innovation Challenge

The Government shall constitute a Grand Innovation Challenge for the upcoming startup ideas on an annual basis and the winner shall be provided sufficient funding and support to realize the idea.

5.7. Industry development and Job creation

Development of IT Industry is one of the key factors in helping the state move into a knowledge economy and facilitating faster technology adoption. There needs to be sufficient thrust to project the state as an ideal location for the industry, given its advantages of healthy environment, better law and order situation, lower cost of living and operations etc. Government shall focus on creating enough jobs that suits the highly educated and skilled manpower of the state

A bidirectional approach will be adopted for this.

• Working with the Technical University and the Colleges to ensure that they develop key competencies in their students as per the industry needs.

• Devise a curriculum incorporating industry recommendations.

5.8. Promotion of hyper local platforms

To promote the small vendors and unbranded businesses in the state, the state shall promote hyper local platforms which provide aggregation of products and services from such vendors

5.9. Kerala App Store

Creation of a Kerala App store for apps catering to the need of the citizen including the citizen services

5.10. IT Industry facilitators

The government shall bring out the detailed sub policy on Industry facilitation which shall cover

• Tax structure

• Single Window clearance

• Incentives/promotion packages

• SME assistances

5.11. Domestic Marketplace

5.11.1. Government procurement

The State envisages creation of a vibrant internal market for the IT players and an early adoption market for the startups by virtue of opening up its procurement needs to companies in the state (registered in Kerala or having a billing within the state)

• The companies shall be encouraged to take up pilot project with 1 government in their areas of expertise and on successful completion of the -same scale it up to a larger scope , subject to approvals by the Government.

• The companies are also encouraged to submit suo motto proposals to the government on areas of governance public service and new technology paradigms in the area of health, education etc . The proposals shall be selected through a "SWISS CHALLENGE" process.

5.11.2. Promotion of locally manufactured/ assembled products

The companies who provide services to government shall be encouraged to establish their manufacturing /assembly units in the state, leveraging the schemes under the MSIPS and EMC by Government of India. Social security of the employees shall be ensured by Government through innovative means.

5.12. Brand 'Kerala IT'

5.12.1. Delegations

The State shall sent delegations to identified regions/countries in collabration with the industry organizations and trade and commerce agencies to establish corridors of work and commerce for the Kerala IT companies.

5.12.2. ITExpoKerala

An annual /bi annual IT expo will be conducted in the state exhibiting its strength and growth potential in IT and also as a measure to bring the futuristic developments across the world to the state. The 'Kerala IT Expo ' shall be a place' for IT companies of Kerala to exhibit credentials, explore business possibilities and engage with national and international players. Specific delegations from countries of business interest shall be invited as State guests for such events. The IT expo shall be a biannual event the first event in 2017 focusing on the smart facilities, Healthcare and Mobility.

5.12.3. International Seminars

IT parks shall host international seminars on Technology /Business thereby exhibit the Kerala's developments in the Technology front to the Global Market.

5.12.4. Encourage high achievers

Government can boost the confidence of high achievers in various fields of IT by introducing a Kerala State award/exchange programme for the Best Achievers in Companies/Company leaders Start ups/Startup leaders (As in Grand Innovation Challenge) Student projects/institutions E Governance projects/teams/departments