Industries must co-opt tech advancements to spur growth: Minister

KOCHI: Co-opting engineering science’s cutting edge technology to the industries sector is a must for spurring growth, Industries Minister EP Jayarajan said here on Monday. Inaugurating the ‘Technical Workshop for General Engineering Sector’  organised jointly by the Industries Department and Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-Bip) here, he said, “Engineering has become omnipresent. It has proved its worth during earthquakes and natural calamities. The latest technological advancements are made use of mostly in industries,” Jayarajan said. 

According to the minister, the recommendations made at the workshop will indeed be taken up by the government. “The government aims to achieve technological advancement of every industry in the years to come. These workshops are held to ensure this,” he said.

K Biju,  Industries Department director, chaired the function. “We need to develop an export-oriented approach among Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). So far, we have created 21 industrial clusters to assist  industrialists in the state. The state government is planning to launch 29 clusters in the near future. In addition, a testing laboratory for ensuring MSMEs’ quality is to be launched soon,” said Biju. 

M Palanivel, MSME  director, and Dwaraka Unni,  Malappuram Metals and Engineering managing director, spoke. K S Pradeep Kumar, K-Bip additional director, delivered the welcome speech and S Santhosh, K-Bip CEO, proposed the vote of thanks. Experts from various fields delivered lectures on their area of specialisation at the technical session held alongside.