Mr VK Mathews, Founder and Executive Chairman of IBS Software, has been elected Chairman of Group of Technology Companies (GTECH), the industry body of IT companies in Kerala, for 2024-2026. Mr Sreekumar V, Centre Head at Tata Elxsi Trivandrum, was elected the Secretary by the Annual General Body Meeting of GTECH held here on Friday. The term of the new office bearers runs for two years till April 2026. The Group of Technology companies has as its members around 250 IT companies employing over 80% of the workforce in Kerala. Nearly two lakh IT professionals work in the state, most of whom are based out of the three IT parks – Technopark in Trivandrum, Infopark in Cochin and Cyberpark in Kozhikode. The export revenue of the IT companies based out of these parks touched Rs 20,000 crores for the financial year ending 2023. Addressing the GTECH Annual General Body Meeting after the declaration of the new office bearers, Mr Mathews said “Over the years, GTECH has become a trade association of consequence spearheading several business and social outreach initiatives positively impacting the youth of the state and the community at large.” The role of GTECH is to facilitate the accelerated growth of the IT industry in Kerala by promoting and supporting existing IT companies, working closely with Government, handholding IT start-ups and engaging key influencers to mobilize public support for the industry. We at GTECH believe that supporting IT is supporting people as every direct employment by IT companies creates four indirect employment opportunities for the community, he said. GTECH organised two of the largest marathons held in the state in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness of the growing menace of drug abuse amongst the youth of the state. The industry body’s Mu Learn initiative has proved to be a game changer in forging the industry – academia collaboration enhancing the employability of a large number of graduating students. All major IT companies in Kerala – TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, IBS Software, Tata Elxsi, Quest, Allianz, UST, EY – as well as medium and small companies are members of GTECH.
