Davos: Kerala will become a new global hub of knowledge-based, cutting-edge and high-tech manufacturing industries within the next 10-15 years, the state’s industries minister P Rajeev has said.
Here in Davos for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, Rajeev said his government is inviting companies for the Invest Kerala Global Summit to be held next month.
“Kerala is known as God’s own country and we are looking for a much more prosperous one going forward,” the minister said.
For the first time in history, Kerala has set up a pavilion here in Davos and the aim is basically to invite potential investors to Invest in Kerala Global Summit, Rajeev said.
“Inequality is very less in our state, we are a welfare state. We are also expecting a lot more employment opportunities in our state,” he said, adding “We are here actually as part of our roadshows being held in various cities in India and other countries for the Kerala Global Summit. We are expecting a good flow of investments during the Summit.”
The state is also looking at the new potential investment areas, in addition to existing projects.
The minister said his government is already hosting roadshows in different cities but it was felt that it can be a good place to meet a large number of potential investors at a single event. “We are having several bilateral meetings as well as roundtables here,” he said.
Rajeev said, “We are also focussing on knowledge-based industries, pharmaceuticals, ports and shipping etc, given our geographical location. Kerala has been on the top in terms of ease of doing business and we also have a large number of our new entrepreneurs. This is the right time to invest in Kerala.”
On being the first Left Front government to have come to Davos and asked whether it would help correct the long-held perception of Left parties being against industrialization, despite Kerala being among the most progressive states, Rajeev said this perception was actually far away from the reality.
Citing examples he said the prestigious Vikrant ship project, a Make in India and a made in Kerala project, was completed without losing a single man hour. Besides, a huge investment project of BPCL was completed before time without losing a single man hour, he said, asserting that these are the realities.
“Our top ranking on ease of doing business, which is totally based on feedback from investors, shows what we really are and how we do and facilitate business,” Rajeev said.
The minister said Kerala is a very small state geographically and population wise, but it scores big when it comes to its share in several industries such as medical devices, spice processing, tourism and in terms of its share in the country’s overall GDP.
“We were among the first in setting up television manufacturing plants in the country, techno parks and several other areas. Several top technology companies including IBM have been reposing their faith in Kerala with repeat investments and additional facilities,” he said.
Rajeev further said Kerala’s education system is also very flexible and that helps us produce the right kind of talent.
“Our presence here and our roadshows across cities within and outside India are basically to realise the true investment potential of Kerala,” the minister said.
On whether Kerala can succeed in retaining its talent that has been a key human capital in growth of several countries, Rajeev said it has already started and a reverse migration has begun.
“If we manage to create job opportunities here, people will stay back. Lately, Kerala talent has been going abroad for white collar jobs and we are ourselves now focussing on highly paid jobs including in IT and data sectors,” he said.
“We are also focussing on creating good education campuses. Many students were going abroad for higher studies and also to work part-time to fund their studies and living expenses there. If we provide all of that here, the talent will stay back,” the minister noted.
People are already coming to Kerala from abroad for studies and there is no reason for our own students to go out if they get quality education and also get some good paying part-time jobs here, he said.
