KOCHI: Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan dismissed again on Monday Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s claims regarding the Left government’s new industrial policies in an article appeared in TNIE. While the leader refrained from directly responding to Tharoor’s remarks, he pointed out that the claim that Kerala ranks top in ease of doing business was baseless as the World Bank had discontinued the index in 2021.
“Going by the government’s argument, three lakh new industrial innovations were established recently. Even if these industries invest Rs 1 lakh each, the industrial sector in the state should register a profit of Rs 30,000 crores. However, as per the statistics, the GDP contribution of the state has been stagnant at 3.8% in recent years,” Satheesan told reporters.
He also cited data from the Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent Clearance which states that 64,528 enterprises received permission to start functioning under the state government. “However, this figure includes both retail and wholesale businesses. The Union government’s decision to classify retail and wholesale businesses under MSME contributed to this rise,” said Satheesan.
He further said, “It is correct that Kerala’s startup ecosystem recorded a 254% compound annual growth rate, far exceeding the global average of 46%. However, the data compares the changes between 2019 and 2021, a period impacted by the pandemic. We all know what the actual situation was during that time,” he said.