In Thiruvananthapuram district there are 2 Central sector, 14 State sector, 1 co-operative sector, 4 joint sector and 60 private sector medium and large scale industries. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) units employ 9262 people with an investment of Rs.34,394 lakhs (as on 31.03.2003). In 2002 there were 901 registered working factories. They include oil mills, cashew factories, cotton textiles, saw mills, printing units, rubber industrial units, chemical units, match factories, general engineering units and automobile workshops. The S.M.S.M. Institute in Thiruvananthapuram is a major institution through which the products of the handicraft industries are marketed.

As on 31.03.2003, there were 28918 small scale industrial units employing 1,15,597 people in the district. In agro based industries, 4544 people work, 3080 work in forest based, 980 in animal husbandry based, 5057 in pesticide based, 1282 in chemicals based, 4708 in engineering based, 3075 in manufacturing and building materials section and 6192 in other industries.

Of these SSI units, 1323 are Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe units and 6065 are women units.

There is an industrial estate at Pappanamcode and an industrial development centre at Kochuveli.

Traditional industries such as coir and handloom are now faced with several problems. The main varieties of coir produced are Anchuthengu and Muppiri. Handloom weaving is prevalent at Balaramapuram, Amaravila, Kulathur and Chirayinkeezhu. It is estimated that clothes worth Rs.950 lakhs are annually produced in the handloom sector. There are 20 Hantex (Handloom Weavers’ Co-operative Society) depots and five showrooms in the district. Keltron (Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation) has made inroads into electronic markets throughout the country.