A few months down the line Trivandrumites will open their eyes to a whole new world of shopping experience.  The credit crunch, real estate collapse and the R-word are becoming icky old tales and the market has started looking upwards. So has the many Mall projects lined up to commence construction, many of which were in the cold storage because of the global financial meltdown.

As many as half a dozen mall projects are all set to begin on various pockets of Trivandrum.  The Malls remain a topic of huge interest especially among the youth and it has been discussed and detailed on many forums and blogs before. Lets get ourselves updated on where we stand with these much awaited lifestyle projects.

Big I Mall

1.5 lakh sq ft

Opposite Technopark, NH Bypass

Kazhakkuttam

Status: Under Construction

http://www.biginfra.com/

Alfa Mall

2.5 lakh sq ft

NH Bypass

Enchakkal

Status: To commence soon

http://www.attitudesasia.com/

Plaza Center

1 million sq ft

NH Bypass

Akkulam

Status:  Approved

http://www.plazacenters.com/

Varkeys Mall

1.25 lakh sq ft

Statue

Status: Approved

http://www.iyermahesh.com/

Nikunjam Mall

1.75 lakh sq ft

MG Road

Paramount Junction

Status: Under Construction

http://www.nikunjambuilders.com/

Condor Mall

2 lakh sq ft

Pattom

Status: To commence soon

http://www.thecondorgroup.com/

The list is in no-way complete and we hope to put up an updated post once we get to see the shape and size of all these beauties..

An IT firm Travancore Analytics located in Trivandrum Technopark has developed a version of the very common snakes and ladders board game. Snake and Ladder, the exciting board game popular among the young and old alike, is now turning out to be a major hit on the iPhone and iTouch. This has turned out to be one among the most favorite free-downloads at App Store. Anyone who owns an iPhone or iTouch can download the games from iTunes. The game has managed as many as 2,50,000 downloads in the past week alone, which is the highest for an iPhone application developed by any Indian software company. More than 70 percent of the download was from Canada, UK and US.

The free version of the game allows the user to be the first player while iPhone being the second player. When the dice appears on screen, just shake the phone as you would do it while playing on the board game and the dice shows the number. Currently, the Snake and Ladder application occupies the numero uno position in 12 App Stores worldwide. IT companies based in Kerala are evolving as strategic players by providing cutting edge solutions to global companies for sustaining their competitiveness.

Are you fond of street magic? Do you want to learn street magic and be known as that professional illusionist? If you dream of yourself being known as a professional street magician, then here is your chance to turnout to be one. Sounds good right! Well, you’ll get the opportunity to learn street magic under the guided training done by Mysterious Stranger (whose name remains a mystery).  He has been trained under the world famous street magician David Blaine, De’vo. And now he is here with the world of street magics just for you. Only 15 students can get into the first batch. So please hurry, only limited seats available. For admissions and enquiries, just ring TacTic Events @ 9387155192. And those interested, all you need to do is to send in your registrations to tacticevents@gmail.com.

Kerala IT Department is looking at exploring opportunities in the area of IT software and IT-enabled Services (ITeS). Trivandrum Technopark has signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Software Park, the Zhongguancun Software Park Company Ltd in Beijing. Mervin Alexander, CEO, Technopark, and Zhou Fang, Director of the Zpark (Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Company Ltd) signed the MoU on Monday in China.

According to the agreement, both the software parks will establish a friendly relationship for the development of better understanding and long-term cooperation. The two parks will join hands in business process outsourcing (BPO), software exports and training sectors in major markets like China, Japan, South Korea, the US and Europe specially training for BPOs, animation outsourcing and other allied areas. Technopark has decided to promote co-operation between Indian IT Software companies located at Technopark and the Kochi InfoPark and the Beijing-based IT software and ITeS companies in various areas. The agreement would thus give a boost to Kerala’s IT sector.

Best Western India launched its first international hotel brand at Thiruvananthapuram. The new 60-room property is branded as ‘Best Western Classic Avenue’ and is on its way to become the largest hotel chain in India. The hotel is located at Manjalikulam Road, Thampanoor. It offers access to various attractions Ponmudi, Kanya Kumari, Kovalam beach, Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple and even IT hub Technopark. It will cater to both leisure and business travellers. The hotel is equipped with international standard amenities and services to facilitate business activities with 24 x 7 service staff. The hotel also has a roof top swimming pool. Best Western Classic Avenue will offer the internationally acknowledged high quality of service and hospitality not just the business travellers, but also to the leisure travellers and will also offer a complete new experience to its new and existing patrons.

New terminal of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport coming up near Chackai canal! The construction work of the terminal is on the way of completion, everything will be done by next month. Only electrical and some finishing works are pending. The new terminal is coming up with a total area of 28,000 sq. mts. It would be able to accommodate 1,600 passengers during the peak hours. The runway of the Airport is 3,998 metres long and so bigger aircraft like Airbus 380 and Boeing 747 could operate from here. The new terminal would have 30 check-in counters, 18 immigration counters, 18 Customs counters, three security checking units and four conveyor belts to facilitate hassle-free movement of passengers. Apart from this, there would be eight aircraft parking bays in the new terminal and eight aerobridges. Around 606 cars could be parked at the upcoming terminal at a time. All this while, the work was delayed due to various reasons.  And if all the work is done by next month, we can expect the new terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport by the end of this year!

Trivandrum-based Technopark, the only IT Park in India having ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007 and CMMI LEVEL 4 certifications has been certified under Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001:2004) and Safety Management System (OHSAS 18001:2007) for design, development, marketing services and overall maintenance of infrastructure facilities for IT/ITES companies. Technopark houses more than 160 companies in the IT and ITes sector. It is the only IT park in Kerala to receive this certification. ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 is a creditable achievement in Technopark. Technopark has also taken efforts for maintaining the status of the greenest Technopolis through e-waste management system. OHSAS 18001:2007 maintained by Technopark enhances Safety at Workplace through prevention of ill health and injury. The efficient security system, fire safety system, traffic regulation system provides employee safety inside the campus. The certifications will be an important step taken by Technopark towards making it a better place of work

Technopark-based Cell Technologies unveiled its new interactive tool for students! A special tool, ‘e-tutor’ is based on animation and multi-media technologies. This would help the students to learn their syllabus in an innovative and effective way. It is available in the form of interactive CD ROMs, online solutions (www.myetutor.in) and also setting up of e-class room concept in educational institutions. It also facilitates the students to analyze lessons, do home works and attend online tests and feedbacks by their own. It also contains rich animations, virtual lab facility and audio explanation. It covers almost 10,000 animated topics, 50,000 multiple-choice questions and answers, 5000 interactive exercises etc also helps to improve the English pronunciation and grammar. E-tutor is available in all leading bookstalls and shops at Rs. 199.

Project Citizen SBI, formally rolled out in the Kerala Circle on Tuesday! The project seeks to bring about spiritual transformation among the employees of the bank, a transformation from deep within, to make them focused not only in their relations with the customers, but also in their attitude to work and the society. Bank’s chairman O.P Bhat envisaged this programme as a human relations initiative to make life and work a celebration for everyone associated the bank. In the competitive world of today, such programmes are actually needed to make work life less stressful.

e-payment facility launched for traders to remit their taxes! The new facility is a key development in the State’s government’s ongoing efforts to renovate the tax collection machinery. e-filing for tax returns had already been introduced for traders. The traders would be able to download all forms required for their tax business from the department’s website by the end of this year. They would no longer require visiting the commercial taxes offices for their routine businesses. By introducing these new facilities, all petty corruption opportunities at the department offices would be removed. It would also lead to a higher level of efficiency.