The investment drive launched by the A K Antony government in Kerala through the first ever Global Investor Meet at Kochi had a sterling effect on its second day on Sunday.

Microsoft said it will open an academy to spread the IT experience among parents, children and teachers.

The proposed academy will be part of its investment of Rs 100 million for 'Project Shiksha'.

"The proposed IT academy in Kerala will be one of its kind in the country. The academy will attempt to influence curriculum and roll IT to the grassroots levels," Microsoft Director Shashi Kumar told rediff.com

"We expect this will speed up the IT movement in Kerala and hope this will make a great referral to other states," he said.

Sutherlands Technologies, headquartered in Rochester, USA, a leading design and implementation company for CRM, EAI and ERP, promised to invest Rs 550 million. It expects to employ 1500 people.

Bhaskar Das, CEO, Sutherlands Technologies, said: "Kochi will be the centre of leadership excellence for BPO and HRD for all operations across the globe for the Sutherland Group."

The NeST Group, a hardware and software company with an annual turnover of nearly Rs 2.7 billion, said that it will invest Rs 30 billion over the next 10 years to build an information superhighway across the state.

TransWorks, a leading BPO company, signed an expression of intent to set up a call centre in Kochi, while GE Capital expressed a desire to do so.

The investment proposals from these companies follow similar announcements from Infosys Technologies and Reliance Infocomm. While Infosys has declared that it will set up a software development centre in Kerala -- most probably in Kochi -- Reliance Infocomm will invest nearly Rs 10 billion in the state.

"Kerala was always a part of my father's vision and was amongst the five states we identified for Reliance Infocomm. The government support has been exemplary. It is our turn now to give value to the people of Kerala," Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who addressed the delegates at the meet, said.

Kerala's Industry and IT Minister P K Kunjalikutty said that the meet is a vindication of the Kerala government's endeavours to attract IT investments. "We are happy that we have been able to attract leading IT companies to the state," Kunjalikutty told rediff.com