In early October, Smart Innovation Norway attended a high-level business roundtable discussing green collaboration opportunities with the government of the Indian state of Kerala.
The conference was organised by Innovation Norway, the Indian Embassy in Norway and the Norway India Chamber of Commerce, and presence were Honourable Chief Minister of the State of Kerala and top bureaucrats from the Government of Kerala.
Smart Innovation Norway’s representatives were Program Manager India, Avanish Verma, and Senior Researcher Sanket Puranik. They participated in the roundtable and discussed collaboration opportunities with the government of Kerala in decarbonisation, renewables, artificial intelligence, and green hydrogen.
A green top-ten paradise
Kerala is the 21st largest Indian state by area and has about 32 million inhabitants. The state is located on the southwestern coast of India and named one of the ten paradises of the world by Nation Geographic Traveler Magazine, Kerala is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.
The Kerala climate is tropical monsoon with a yearly average temperature of 33o C, a minimum of 248 mm precipitation per year and more than 280 sunny days. As the state has abundant solar and water resources, the Smart Innovation Norway team discussed collaborating on green hydrogen and possibilities to support their initiatives for the sustainable development of 1900 km of inland waterway.
First Indian solar ferry
The province is also famous for its ecotourism initiatives, and Kerala operates India’s first solar ferry and has ambitious plans to develop sustainable maritime and marine industries.
Smart Innovation Norway will happily engage with other Norwegian partners to support Kerala’s inspiring plans for renewables and sustainable economic transformation.
– It was overall a very positive discussion with strong interest among Norwegian business, says Mr Avanish Verma, Program Manager India at Smart Innovation Norway, and his colleague, Senior Researcher Sanket Puranik.