Investors will not face red tapes: Vijayan at summit

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that his administration, over the past few years, has made strides in simplifying procedures and formulating essential policies to make the state investor-friendly as he inaugurated the two-day Invest Kerala Global Summit (IKGS) in Kochi on Friday.

Over 3,000 delegates participated in the summit organised by the state government in its bid to attract investments and business proposals in a range of sectors from AI and robotics, Ayurveda, tourism, medical devices and bio-tech, maritime to agro food-processing and logistics.

“The government understands that it has a great role to play as a facilitator and a catalyst. We have taken a holistic view and are paying equal attention to all matters from policy formulation to last-mile implementation. We have ensured that no investor coming to Kerala will have to face the cobweb of procedural delays and meet the barriers of red tape,” the chief minister said.

One of those steps, he said, was providing entrepreneurs under MSME sector acknowledgement certificate from the online KSWIFT portal to begin their business. The licenses need to be obtained within a period of next 3 years and six months, he said.

Among other measures were implementing recommendations from the Report of the External Committee on Legislative Reforms, providing skill-training sessions under K-DISC and ASAP, recognising access to internet as a right and providing connections to BPL families and launching science parks to foster research and innovation.

In the most recent budget, the CM said, an announcement was made to ensure that no investor returns from the state without investing citing non-availability of land.

“Government will take special initiatives to make required land available to them. We have a scheme of land pooling for making the same available for prospective investors,” said CM Vijayan.

The chief minister cited the state’s top ranking on the ease of doing business index, the 16% growth in employment as per PLFS data, profitability of several PSUs, the operationalization of the Vizhinjam transshipment port and the substantial growth in the state’s startup space as examples of its potential for attracting investments.

“Kerala’s investment scenario is on the cusp of history. We are witnessing progress and change for the better,” he said.

Union minister of commerce and industries Piyush Goyal and Union minister for skill development and entrereneurship Jayant Chaudhary pledged the support of the Union government to the state’s investment and industrialisation goals.

“Look at what all Kerala offers to investors, be it in the spheres of tourism, manufacturing or logistics. Kerala is at the forefront of development in every sphere,” Goyal said.

On the first day of the event, Karan Adani, MD of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited, said his group will invest ₹30,000 crore in the state in the next five years including ₹20,000 crore in the Vizhinjam project where it has a stake.

The Adani Group will also expand the capacity of the Trivandrum International Airport from 4.5 million to 12 million passengers through an investment of ₹5500 crore, he said at the investment summit.

Besides, a logistics and e-commerce hub will also be developed in Kochi, he added.