അന്വേഷണം വാർത്തകൾ ലഭിക്കാന് വാട്സാപ്പ് ഗ്രൂപ്പില് ചേരൂ.Distinguished Guests on and off the Dias,
I am extremely happy to be part of this meet and deliver this address before this august gathering. At the outset, let me thank all guests who are here for having spared valuable time out of their busy schedule to be part of this meet. This shows the interest you have in Kerala’s development.
Kerala is a State renowned for its natural beauty and has been an attraction for tourists from within the country and abroad. We have a strong indigenous medical system, Ayurveda, which too has attracted people from all over the world. We preserve these natural advantages with the responsibility we owe to the nature and knowledge and venture into sunrise areas in our quest to build a Knowledge Society.
Kerala’s investment scenario is in the cusp of history. We are witnessing progress and change for the better in our investment arena. It is at this juncture that this summit is taking place bringing together global investors, visionaries in the field, experts and policy makers, aiming to explore the investment potential of Kerala, and witness our initiatives towards building an investor friendly architecture in the State.
The changes we have brought about now are not incremental but substantial. Kerala, the State which has become a noteworthy example of achieving a high score in Human Development Indicators is now taking a leap towards achieving the status of an investment hub. The Government here, considers that it has a great role to play as a facilitator and a catalyst. We have taken a holistic view and are paying equal attention to all matters from policy formulation to the last mile implementation.
We have ensured that no investor coming to Kerala will have to face the cobweb of procedural delays and meet the barriers of red tape. We have made major strides in simplifying procedures as regards investments.
One example is the Kerala Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises Facilitation Act, 2019 under which MSMEs can start by obtaining acknowledgement certificate from the online KSWIFT portal. Necessary licenses need to be obtained within a period of next 3 years and 6 months.
Another is the Report of the External Committee on Legislative Reforms, which has recommended decriminalisation of 38 provisions in various existing acts and amendments to 12 acts and 12 rules pertaining to 13 departments. Some of these recommendations have been implemented and others are under the active consideration of the State government.
Apart from untying the Gordian’s knot of complex laws and procedures, Government of Kerala has shown the will to undertake the task of bridging the infrastructural deficit, as it realises that high quality infrastructure is the necessary condition for investments to come to the State.
Developing transport infrastructure has been accorded a pride of place. The State despite its fiscal constraints has contributed 25 per cent of the cost for land acquisition for widening of National Highway 66 and taking all steps to get approvals of the Union government for railway development necessary for running high speed trains. Government of Kerala gives importance not only to the development of National Highways but also all roads within the State. Good travel worthy roads will cut down travel time for people who have to frequently travel on business trips.
Our State has four airports with good facilities and the State is taking every possible initiative to make destinations in Kerala more connected with global centres. We accord prime importance to development of the amenities in the airport and more facilities for landing all kinds of aircrafts.
Besides, roads, rail and airways Government of Kerala has taken efforts to make inland waterways as a navigable route across the State. Kochi Water Metro part of this initiative has been completed.
High priority has been given to providing uninterrupted power supply by expediting the completion of power highways. Let me share with happiness and pride that Kerala is a State without power cuts.
Let me invite your kind attention to the latest resolve by the Government of Kerala to prospective investors. It is a known fact that with high density of population, land is a scarce resource in Kerala. But in the budget presented on February 7, 2025, in the State Assembly, the government has declared that no investor coming to the State will need to return without investing for the reason of non-availability of land. Government will take special initiatives to make required land available to them. We have a scheme of land pooling for making the same available for prospective investors.
Kerala has recognised internet connectivity as a right of the people and has taken steps to provide net connectivity in schools, colleges and in distant areas. As per the statistics of the Telecom Regulatory Authority in 2022, Kerala has internet connectivity for 87 out of 100 persons as against the national average of 60 per 100 persons. We intend to do more in the area with our novel project K-FON, making good progress in providing connectivity at affordable rates.
Though high quality infrastructure, power, land connectivity are highly essential for making the State an attractive destination for investments, we are aware that they are not sufficient.
Government of Kerala is putting emphasis on quality of human capital and is taking special efforts to ensure that skills required by the job providers are acquired by the job seeking youth.
For this, we have initiated special programmes under Kerala Development Innovation and Strategic Council (K-DISC) and Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) to equip students and youth with the necessary skills demanded by the prospective employers. K-DISC also conducts meets, where youth who have acquired the required skills are put in touch with the prospective employers.
Providing skills and conducting job fair meets are presently being done in a campaign mode throughout the State. This is an act evidencing the keen interest shown by the State government in providing investors and employers with the required skilled human resources.
Kerala’s human resource personnel in various fields, especially in the health sector have a well recognised presence across many countries. While maintaining our existing position, we now endeavour to diversify the skills of our students and youth to emerging employment needs.
It is also pertinent to mention here that government of Kerala is taking serious steps to transform the higher education sector in the State, by providing adequate infrastructure, redesigning courses and connecting research with industry.
One example is the initiative to start Science Parks in the State. The Science Parks provide space and basic laboratory facilities for universities, academic institutions and the industry, within and outside the State to come together, engage in research and development and produce new innovations. Science Park in Kannur is nearing completion and will be active soon. Other Science Parks will also become functional in the State.
Kerala has made major strides in the Start up sector. In the last 8 years, Kerala has witnessed establishment of 6200 startups with an investment of ₹ 5800 crore creating 62,000 employment opportunities. We aim to establish 15,000 startups and create one lakh employment opportunities by 2026. Kerala’s initiatives in the area has been acknowledged globally. Global Startup Eco-system Report stated that there is 254 per cent growth in startups from July 2021 to December 2023.
Kerala, the pioneer in the information technology sector, is now catching up with others, who started later but went ahead. Our info and techno parks are successful experiments. We have a Digital University and propose to start Digital Science Park. This aims to foster cutting edge research, startups and digital entrepreneurship.
Yet another new sector in which we have shown interest and taken initiatives is Aerospace. Government has taken steps to facilitate investments in this area.
In this context, I would also like to mention that we are facilitating Graphene based advanced technological material research under the leadership of Digital University. Graphene is a material with tremendous potential, for use in electronics, and energy. Kerala has taken steps for achieving a clean energy economy. We have setup a Hydrogen valley project in Kochi and I am happy to mention here that this has been recognised by the World Economic Forum, Davos as one of the 13 leading global industrial clusters.
Earlier in this speech, I mentioned about the mark made by the human resource personnel of Kerala in the health sector in all countries across the world. Now, Kerala is making its presence felt in enterprises manufacturing medical devices with the significant share of this industry in India (at 42 per cent) in our State. We have an initiative in the manufacture of Nutraceuticals too. We have established a Centre of Excellence in medical research, The Institute of Advanced Virology in Life Science Park, Thiruvananthapuram.
On the physical infrastructure front, Vizhinjam Port development is proceeding fast and the project will be completed in 2028 ahead of schedule. The port is making Kerala a hub of transshipment of goods. There is tremendous scope for ancillary development. We have got approval for the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor from the Union Government and land acquisition for the same has proceeded at a fast phase.
As all of us know, Kerala is a society which has a high level of debating and levelling of criticisms. One can at times feel that no progress is recognised by the critics. When criticism itself becomes the end and not the means to achieve the end of improvement, it ceases to be constructive.
Nevertheless, tangible achievements speak for themselves and with information at their disposal, public can appreciate the progress achieved by the State.
In ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index, Kerala is ranked first among Indian States and the ‘Year of Enterprises’ organised by Kerala, has been recognised as a best practice at the national level.
We have been able to make our public sector units function profitably. One of our PSUs, KELTRON along with some of the MSMEs registered here has collaborated in the Chandrayan project, a pride of our Nation.
The share of the manufacturing sector in Gross State Value Added, which was 9.8 per cent in 2014-15 has risen to 11.5 per cent in 2023-24.
According to Periodic Labour Force Survey data, employment in Kerala grew by 16 per cent during 2017-18 and 2023-24 to reach 1.51 crore in 2023-24.
It has been noted that there is a notable shift in the State’s employment structure towards the formal sector.
I can go on narrating instances of progress and achievements. But let me stop the narration with these illustrative examples. Let me also state that we take criticisms in our stride and try to understand what remains to be done in our march forward in making Kerala an investment destination.
I conclude by telling this distinguished gathering that for making Kerala an investment destination, the Government of Kerala shall strain every nerve and leave no stone unturned. We have an end to end approach with a holistic perspective to implement our plan not incrementally but substantially.
With these words, I declare this meet open with extreme happiness and hope that the discussions here will provide a new direction to Kerala’s quest to be an investment hub and in building a knowledge society.
CONTENT HIGH LIGHTS; Govt committed to eliminating red tape: CHIEF MINISTER PINARAYI VIJAYAN SPEECH INVEST KERALA GLOBAL SUMMIT INAGURAL SESSION
