Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

High-level meet discusses conduct of GKSF

Thiruvananthapuram: The Grand Kerala Shopping Festival (GKSF) has succeeded in attracting international attention sooner than the State government thought that it will, according to Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

The Minister, who was addressing a high-level meeting convened here on Friday to ensure organisational excellence during season three of the shopping festival, said that though the government was planning to raise the GKSF to the level of the Dubai and Singapore shopping festivals within five years, it had succeeded in catching international attention within three years.

He said that the GKSF had succeeded in nurturing healthy competition in the trade sector and in imparting a creative surge to it.

The Minister drew attention to the service which the festival rendered in nurturing the traditional production sector of the State and in providing a market to the weaker sections, including the tribal and primitive tribal people, in selling their exclusive wares.

Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac said that an additional sum of Rs.5 crore would be earmarked in the budget for the conduct of the festival this year.

A trade centre would be set up at Kanakakunnu here.

The government would not depend fully on event management agencies’ help for organising the festival this time.

The organisers would be equipped to handle the event management on their own. The special machinery for organising the festival would come into existence immediately.

The meeting decided to provide all major prizes in the form of gold this time.

The number of winners would be increased and the formalities for releasing the prizes simplified.

Industries Minister Elamaram Karim; Principal Secretary, Industries, T. Balakrishnan; Tourism Secretary V. Venu; Tourism Director M. Sivasankar; Industries Director T.O. Sooraj; and GKSF Director K.N. Satheesh were present.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Free legal aid for NoRKs
Farm workers’ welfare fund: bill planned
17 moneylenders booked on charge of kidnapping
IMG in quality improvement mode
Good work has gone unnoticed: Isaac
ESI scheme to cover staff of private schools, hospitals
Selected for awards
Special trains
Crop insurance scheme notified
High-level meet discusses conduct of GKSF
Spirit theft from excise office: one held
ODEPC to go in for mass recruitment to Saudi Arabia
Tributes paid to Michael Jackson
New Milma brand products soon
Campaign against drug abuse
Patient care affected at MCH in capital
Beached whale carcass raises a stink
Mass recruitment to Saudi Arabia
Drug formulary released
CAG finds lapses in State’s finance management
Honour
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu