Kerala’s historical achievement of the top position in the Union Commerce Ministry’s ease of doing business rankings was achieved through a coordinated effort of various departments, Industries Minister P. Rajeeve has said.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by the Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust here on Friday, Mr. Rajeeve said that the State has made rapid strides in the rankings from 28 two years ago to 15 the previous financial year and rank 1 this year.
Promise fulfilled
“The Left Democratic Front (LDF) promised in the manifesto for the 2021 Assembly elections to take the State to the first place in the rankings within five years. But, we have managed to achieve this much before that. Over the past three years, we have brought in reforms to laws to make the process of starting a business easier. This achievement is the result of coordinated effort of various departments which are involved in providing the required licensing for businesses,” he said.
Mr. Rajeeve said that the government is constantly in touch with the community of entrepreneurs in framing policies. The opinions of the community, which have been overwhelmingly positive, formed an important part in the ranking.
Challenges ahead
“Now, our focus will be on telling the world about these rankings, and through that attract investment and create jobs. Retaining the ranking will be an even bigger challenge. The expansion in the sector will be done taking into consideration the low availability of land, ecologically fragile regions and the availability of skilled human resources. Now, the new ventures being launched in Kerala are not concentrated in some specific area, but spread out all across the region, even in Idukki, Wayanad and Kasaragod districts, which did not traditionally attract investments,” he said.
The State government will soon come out with an export policy within the scope of the existing Industrial policy. As many as 80 educational institutions have expressed interest in the government’s campus industrial park initiative, he said.
Published - September 06, 2024 07:29 pm IST
