The Hindu : State to be developed as business, leisure centre: Antony

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 23, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

State to be developed as business, leisure centre: Antony

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, MARCH 22 . The Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, said today that the Government was committed to developing the State as a centre for "business and leisure".

Inaugurating the US-based Ohio State University's multi-industry symposium on `New business realities for the 21st century', organised by the IBS Software Services and co-hosted by Air-India here, he said the State was moving on the right track in promoting tourism, information technology and biotechnology.

Mr. Antony said the choice of Kochi to host the event, an initiative of the university on behalf of the international airline industry, was an endorsement of various steps taken by the State Government during the past four years. It has strengthened the Government's resolve to develop Kochi as an international media and IT hub, he said.

The Chief Minister recalled that in a CII-sponsored study of 18 Indian States, Kerala came third in overall composite score, first in health and education, first in law and order, fifth in investment attractiveness and eighth in labour. Kerala was at the top in South Asia for its quality of life index, very high rates of literacy, health, public hygiene and life expectancy.

Apart from traditional agricultural and commercial strengths of the State in rubber, coconut, spices, coffee and tea, Kerala had a slew of health spas and residential clinics utilising Ayurvedic preparations sourced from medicinal plants. The State is one of the world's most precious biodiversity hotspots while its marine resources and forest wealth are other major engines for economic growth. The State had recognised that biotechnology offered excellent opportunities in augmenting value creation, wealth and employment as well as ushering in new vistas for application in medicine, agriculture and industry.

Mr. Antony said the State had a long list of IT advantages such as a strategic location on the transnational trade corridor, communication infrastructure, premier R&D institutions, multi-industry environment and rich natural resources. The Information Kerala project was a trendsetter in the deployment of technology to the grassroot level and a model for participatory governance through IT. Regarding tourism, he said Kerala was the only State that bagged three PATA Gold awards this year.

K.V. Thomas, Minister for Excise, V.K. Mathews, CEO of IBS Software Services, V.K. Verma of Air-India, Scott Nason of American Airlines, Nawal Taneja of the Ohio State University, and others spoke. The participant at the three-day symposium include representatives from Ford, Mazda, British Airways, Emirates, Airbus, Southwest Airlines, Thai Airways and Rolls Royce.

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