Thiruvananthapuram | A "startup culture" in Kerala is changing the attitude of the state's youth from job seekers to job givers which will not only strengthen the ecosystem of "up-and-coming" firms but also help to generate over 20,000 jobs in the current financial year, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday.

Vijayan, after inaugurating the first ever Infinity Centre in Dubai in UAE, said it was one of the steps towards generating more jobs and strengthening Kerala's ecosystem for nascent companies.

More such facilities will be set up in the United States, Australia and Europe during the first phase, he said at the event which marked the start of a series of such launch pads in association with Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM).

The Chief Minister said that with the startup culture in Kerala changing the attitude of the youth, the government's IT Department was engaged in finding ways to make best use of this change among the new generation.

The first Infinity Centre was launched in Dubai as UAE provides considerable support to Kerala's efforts to link up with other economies, he said.

He further said the aim of the Infinity Centres was to explore foreign markets for the state's startups by helping non-resident Indians (NRIs) become entrepreneurs through KSUM.

"Also, the presence of senior Malayali executives in companies abroad has been boosting Kerala's strides in the IT sector," Vijayan added.

Besides, the international laurels Kerala has won in the startup sector can translate into cooperation from NRIs to further strengthen the state's ecosystem, he said, adding that this will enable them to run companies through a plug-and-play collaboration with KSUM's Infinity Centres.

"All the same, these launch pads can enable the state's startups to receive investments from abroad and widen their domain," he said.

Vijayan also gave details of the other measures being taken by Kerala to improve its IT sector.

He said the government was in the process of setting up IT corridors in stretches such as Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam in the south, Alappuzha-Ernakulam and Ernakulam-Koratty in the centre, and Kozhikode-Kannur up north.

"Land acquisition is on for these projects. Besides IT, the sectors that can woo startups will be agriculture and culture," he added.

KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika, who also spoke at the event, said the new Infinity Centre will be a success if only the infrastructure is put to use.

"We need to have a meaningful intervention. In that, the role of the Indian diaspora is very important," he said.

Startup Middle East was selected as the Infinity Centre's partner in the UAE and a pact to this effect was signed at the event between the Dubai-headquartered platform's founder Sibi Sudhakaran and the KSUM CEO in the presence of Vijayan.

Ambika said the proposal for Infinity Centres sprang up in the context of NRIs, totalling around 3.2 crore, playing a huge role in the development of India by adding about USD 78 billion in remittances to the country's

economy.

"This launch pad will act as a global desk in select countries where the NRI community can engage, co-create and set up businesses -- either in their resident country or in India. The Infinity Centres will support the registration of their company in their resident country or in Kerala," he said.

He further said the Infinity Centres aim to be a one-stop destination for NRIs to get themselves into the entrepreneurship bandwagon through various collaboration opportunities with Kerala-based startups and KSUM.

These centres will be set up in association with a global partner who will be selected through a transparent process. The partner will be responsible for providing us with the necessary infrastructure and a 12-month engagement plan, he added.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.