Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress led UDF government has said it is considering a “Make in Kerala” programme based on the model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious Make in India, to woo more investments in different sectors of the state. Industries and IT minister P K Kunhalikutty said several areas have been identified for the programme.
“We welcome the Centres' Make in India programme. We are planning several programmes and industrial associations in the state on par with the initiative,” he said. He also reported that FICCI had identified certain areas for the Make in Kerala programme and submitted the proposal to the government. Stating that the state government would not give 'ease clearance' like other states, he said, “Our growth concept is inclusive and it reaches to large number of people. But, we cannot be like Gujarat or any other big states in terms of easy clearance for industrial projects. We have to consider several factors and issues before giving clearance to a project proposal.”
“Availability of land is also an issue for a state like Kerala. We cannot give easy clearance to industries like mining, that creates environment pollution, and also that need large stretch of land,” he said. About the IT sector, he said the administration would have to launch a campaign to promote the IT parks and attract investments.
