Kerala government is looking at setting up work-near-home facilities using unoccupied buildings, hotel rooms and even houseboats as co-working spaces near employees' homes
Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the Kerala government is considering setting up work-near-home (WNH) facilities for information technology (IT) companies.
Unoccupied buildings, hotel rooms and even houseboats might be used as co-working spaces near the employee's home, according to a report by Financial Express.
"The WNH facility is slated to be live from October. Tenders to acquire buildings as co-working spaces will begin from next fortnight," M Sivasankar, principal secretary at the state's IT department told the publication.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.
"Work-near-home facility for employees could be a solution for issues like poor internet connectivity and power failure that IT firms that have staff on the work-from-home arrangement are facing," PM Sasi, CEO of Kerala government-owned IT parks told Financial Express.
The government will create 100 co-working spaces of at least 5,000 sq ft across cities and towns in the first phase, the report said.
During the second phase, some resorts and houseboats, which have been unused during the lockdown, will be converted into co-working spaces, the report added.
A survey was conducted across IT companies and other firms, which showed an inclination to the project since the co-working spaces could also discount rent overheads, the report added.
The Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project, which will provide high-speed internet to the poor, will be rolled out by December, the report said.Join the Moneycontrol Rule the New Normal powered by Lenovo webinar on the 18th of June. REGISTER NOW!
