Tvm: In order to realize the dream of the ‘Digital Inclusion’ programme in Kerala by empowering all students in the State in ICT, the IT@School project has planned to introduce specific ICT training programme for students who require special attention. As the first step, the training module for teachers has been developed and it is to be noted that this training programme is being developed entirely using the Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) based application, GCompris.

Kochi: Seven years after the SmartCity Kochi project was initiated and almost four years after the foundation stone was laid, the construction work of the Rs.2,000 crore project was finally flagged off today by the Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy. The office will be completed in four months. The work on SmartCity Pavilion - the offices for the Administrative and Project Management team, was to begin on September 29, 2011 as per the deadline set by Tecom with the Kerala Government.

Tvm: Kerala Chief Minister Shri Oommen Chandy has ordered an investigation into the allegations regarding hacking of email ids of leaders, activists, professionals, students and journalists from the minority community in Kerala. T P Sen Kumar, ADGP - Intelligence will conduct the investigation. A release from the CM’s office said, the order was based on an expose by Madhyamam Weekly, which in its latest edition claimed that 268 email ids belonging to Muslims have been subjected to surveillance by the Special Branch of Kerala Police.

Tvm: The Technopark based International Centre for Free & Open Source Software (ICFOSS) is set to commence research and development activities on the popular smart-device platform, Android, through a composite project awarded to it by the Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of India. Android is a FOSS-based generic Operating System platform for mobile phones, pads, slates, tablets and a variety of other emerging devices. It is promoted by the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 84 IT and Telecom firms led by Google, which originally owned the platform.

New Delhi: The proposed SmartCity Kochi project today got the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status approval from the Board of Approval (BoA) under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, for 114 acres of land out of the total 246 acres. The Central Government had in March this year issued a notification granting SEZ status for 132 acres of land. The decision on approval for the remaining 114 acres was deferred that time keeping in mind the election model code of conduct.

Tvm: The ‘Mid-Career interaction between Armed Forces and Civil Services Officers on Cyber Security’ concluded today at the Institute of Management in Government at Thiruvananthapuram. About 25 senior officers from the Armed Forces and Civil Services (IAS, IFS & IPS) attended the two day workshop on Cyber Security which was sponsored by the Department of personnel & Training, Government of India. The session was inaugurated by Dinesh Sharma IAS, Principal Secretary to CM, GoK on January 06, 2012.