Emerging Kerala sets new goals for State

A total of 4,676 participants registered for the meet, out of which 2,512 were business delegates, and 2,183 delegates benefitted from business-to-business and business-to-government meetings

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, RuralDevelopment Minister K.C. Joseph, IndustriesMinister P.K. Kunhalikutty, and Excise MinisterK. Babu at the venue of the Emerging Kerala meetin Kochi on Friday. Photo: Vipin Chandran

The Emerging Kerala 2012 meet ended on a high note with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy indicating in clear terms the goals set for the State in years to come.

In his presidential address at the valedictory session of the meet here on Friday, Mr. Chandy sounded very positive about the outcome of the meet.

The meet could bring in 45 specific project proposals with an investment of over Rs.40,000 crore, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s Kochi Refinery expansion and another joint venture project of Rs.18,000 crore; Volkswagen’s engine assembly unit (Rs.2,000 crore); hospital and pre-cast concrete structure manufacturing unit (Rs.570 crore); and solar energy plant (Rs.500 crore), he told the gathering.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had already announced the setting up of a Centre of Excellence in Entrepreneurship in the State. During the meet, 43 business proposals were discussed between different departments of the State and companies from the U.K., the U.S., Japan, and Canada.

A total of 4,676 participants registered for the meet, out of which 2,512 were business delegates, and 2,183 delegates benefitted from business-to-business and business-to-government meetings, he said.

The State government had earlier announced setting up of the Kerala State Investment Board to speed up clearance for proposals. Necessary amendments would be made to the single-window clearance Act, including making the application process online.

The State government was committed to creating an atmosphere where academically proficient youth would not hesitate becoming entrepreneurs. The Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) would create one lakh sq ft built-up space in 16 months for incubators and complete the first phase of 25,000 sq ft by May 2013. This would make the StartUp Village the world’s largest telecom incubator, he said. The State government would further strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem by creating Technology Innovation Zone on about 10 acres in Kochi at an initial investment of Rs.100 crore.