The government has drawn up plans to ensure the success and sustainability of enterprises as the State takes up the Year of Enterprises 2.0 campaign during the current financial year.
The first three months of the year would be dedicated to awareness creation and planning, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Monday. He was inaugurating ‘Mission 1000’, aimed at creating a thousand enterprises with an average turnover of ₹100 crore each.
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Priority areas and branding
Twenty-two priority areas, best suited to entrepreneurship development in Kerala, have been identified as the State strives to create a sustainable investment atmosphere with emphasis on new technology and knowledge-based enterprises. The State will encourage responsible investments and infuse new technology to raise the status of traditional industries.
The creation of a Kerala brand for products from the State and support to find foreign markets are the key objectives of the government with due emphasis on aerospace and defence industries, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, biotechnology and life sciences, electric vehicles, graphene, medical instruments, and pharmaceuticals.
₹100-crore club
Mission 1000 aims to select a hundred enterprises through a transparent process and support them to join the ₹100-crore club over the next four years. Units that have been in operation for over the last three years will be selected on the basis of various parameters, each of which will carry its weight as part of the score.
The Chief Minister said there was a propaganda that Kerala was not suited for investments. Such complaints have come not from investors but from other sources that are keen to put down the State. However, world-renowned brands such as Nissan, Airbus, and Tech Mahindra have shown interest in investing in Kerala. Besides, the success of the first year of enterprises was an answer to the anti-State campaigners, the Chief Minister added.
The State has given due importance to infrastructure, market, and skill development, creating ease of exports and encouraging research. Higher education will be linked to industrialisation through programmes such as Young Innovators’ Programme, Industry on Campus, and Connect Career to Campus.
Industries Minister P. Rajeeve presided over the function. The Mission 1000 web portal was launched by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal and the Selfie Point YouTube channel was inaugurated by Local Self-Government Minister M.B. Rajesh.
