Making Kerala investment friendly

KOCHI: Kerala is ranked 18th in the list of ease of doing business in the country. As Team Pinarayi 2.0 strives to improve the ranking, new Industries Minister P Rajeeve, who represents Kalamassery, has a major role to perform. Industrialists and the business community welcomed the decision to name Rajeeve as the industries minister, who has his task cut out as many projects are either stalled or waiting for green light. Rajeeve, in an exclusive interview with TNIE, said his priority is to change the image of the state and make it a business-friendly one.

“The government is keen on removing the hindrances faced by entrepreneurs. For that, many rules have to be amended to help businesses get licence without delay. Some issues are still persisting and they will be addressed soon to improve the ease-of-doing-business ranking. The first cabinet meeting has decided to form a redressal committee, consisting of senior IAS officers, which will clear the roadblocks from the part of the local self-government bodies in starting new businesses,” said Rajeeve, adding that a report on the same will be presented next month.

PETROCHEMICAL PARK
Rajeeve said the petrochemical park would be completed in time and a meeting of all top officials has been called on Tuesday. “Representatives from the state electricity board and water authority are invited. Industry consultants of the project and district collector will also take part. Underground cabling and supply of water are the immediate tasks. A roadmap will be drawn during the discussion,” he said.

Amballoor hardware park
“Regarding the Amballoor KSIDC Electronics Hardware Park, another important meeting involving the heads of all stakeholders will be called after Wednesday. We have set a 
three-year timeframe to complete the project. In the next meeting, all public sector CMDs in the industrial sector have been invited.

Advanced cancer care centre
The minister said the agency that was given the tender to set up an advanced cancer care centre at the Ernakulam Medical College Hospital had to be removed due to delay in carrying out its work. The agency went to court and that delayed the retendering process. “The court validated our points. The district collector has been given the charge of a special officer for the development of the cancer centre, which is now functioning as an outpatient centre at the medical college hospital. A meeting with the health minister is also scheduled. We expect to complete the development project in time,” the minister added.

GIFT City project
Regarding the Global Industrial Finance and Trade (GIFT) City project, the minister said the Kochi-Bangalore industrial corridor will be given priority. The officials concerned have been directed to identify the current status of the same. A review of all projects including Kochi-Coimbatore and Kochi-Mangalore industrial corridors are also in the pipeline.

What is ease of doing business?
Ease of doing business ranking of the states and union territories of India is a ranking system established by the World Bank. The higher rankings indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses. The ranking has been done by the World Bank since 2015 and facilitated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.