Min: KSWIFT to improve state’s industrial sector

Thiruvananthapuram: The ranking by industrial houses is a factor in betterment of the rank of the state in industries sector, industries minister E P Jayarajan said.
Inaugurating the pilot launch of Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent Clearance (KSWIFT) here on Saturday, the minister said that KSWIFT aimed at lifting the state to a higher rank.

KSWIFT is an initiative by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation’s (KSIDC), which is aimed at introducing a transparent fast-track online single-window clearance system for entrepreneurs to avoid procedural delays in getting statutory clearances from various authorities concerned throughout the life cycle of projects. The project is expected to act as a one-stop portal to help entrepreneurs in the state and be a single-point contact for investments.

The programme has been conceptualised by integrating the existing portals of departments like Kerala state electricity board, electrical inspectorate, labour department, Kerala water authority, pollution control board, fire and rescue department, mining and geology department, state environmental impact assessment authority and factories and boilers’ department.

Jayarajan said that the project hoped to improve the industrial sector of the state by providing a single point of contact for entrepreneurs across multiple departments. “Kerala has improved its rankings to 44.78% based on business reforms action plan (BRAP) state rankings,” he said.

The pilot launch has been scheduled to assess drawbacks, if any, of the current project and clear these defects before the official launch scheduled for February 11 in Ernakulam by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The applications and approvals will be tracked online at fixed timelines. If an approval is not granted within the set time limit of 30 days, there will be strict action against the authority concerned. “The project will in short enhance the efficiency of the departments and thereby further improve the rankings which will also help in attracting more international entrepreneurs to the state,” Jayarajan said.

Former chairman of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Kerala chapter P Ganesh said that the programme would help the state to become one among the top 10 ranking states in the near future. Revenue additional chief secretary P H Kurian presided over the function.