India-based telecom equipment maker Tejas Networks said it has signed an agreement to set up a ‘center of excellence’ in Kerala to mentor students and start-ups in the state.
The center will focus on training, skills development and mentoring of college students, young entrepreneurs and high-potential electronics startups in the state.
“Senior technologists from Tejas will work closely with the faculty of leading engineering institutions in the state to develop a futuristic, industry-oriented telecommunication training and certification program,” the company said.
Tejas is known for supplying India-made telecom gear to operators, ISPs and other government organizations at affordable costs, and competes with the likes of Chinese brands like Huawei and ZTE and global brands like Nokia and Cisco.
As part of the partnership, Tejas Networks will also set up an advanced networking test-bed for cutting-edge technologies such as terabit-scale optical communications, gigabit-scale broadband access, 5G and software-defined networking.
The center will be set up in the new Integrated Startup Complex in Kochi.
“We welcome Tejas Networks to Kerala,” said M. Sivasankar, Secretary IT, Government of Kerala.
“As India’s most successful deep technology product startup, Tejas is uniquely qualified to mentor high-technology entrepreneurs and startups in Kerala and help jumpstart the electronics industry in the state.”
He said Tejas Networks has proved that it is “indeed possible to design and manufacture innovative, high-quality world-class products from India”.
Indian companies have a reputation for being designers of technical products and software, but in manufacturing, especially in areas like hi-tech which requires an extreme level of quality consciousness in the manufacturing process — not something that Indian companies are known for.
Sivasankar said he was positively surprised at the work done in this direction by Tejas.
“I was truly impressed to see the wide range of complex electronics products that the company has developed and displayed at the center today,” he said.
The agreement gives Tejas Networks the status of Kerala’s ‘telecom knowledge partner’.
Kerala, where the population is extremely conscious of health and environmental issues, has been one of the worst states to set up a manufacturing or industrial operation.
The state also has a talented and high-educated manpower, which has typically had to look at nearby cities like Chennai and Bangalore for employment.
However, that is changing with the emergence of IT, which typically does not generate a lot of emissions or pollution. The state has been encouraging IT players to set up shop, with much to show for it.
“Kerala has emerged as a thriving ecosystem of talented entrepreneurs, startups and academic institutions,” said Sanjay Nayak, Managing Director and CEO of Tejas Networks.