KOCHI: A Special Investment Promotion Task Force has been constituted by the state government to fully utilise the post-Covid industrial potential. As per the decision, the Task Force with Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta as chairman and Principal Secretary (Industries and Commerce) K Ellangovan as vice-chairman will take forward the efforts in a time-bound manner.
“Kerala is set to tap the post-Covid industrial potential fully on the strength of a set of investment-friendly legislation enacted by the state government,” said Industries Minister E P Jayarajan. “The enhanced trust of investors in the government has been evident from the huge response to the projects showcased at the Global Investor Meet, ASCEND 2020, held in Kochi in January.
As many as 54 projects with a total investment of `25,000 crore, presented before the investors from India and abroad at the two-day event, got under way within months. Another 15 projects with a total investment of `700 crore are set to go on stream in the next few months and 23 projects totalling `5,456.48 crore within a year. Apart from these, 61 projects are in the final stages of processing,” added the minister.
Meanwhile, Ellangovan said infrastructure has greatly enhanced the ease of doing business in the state. “Seven acts and 10 rules have been amended while enacting the Kerala Investment Promotion Facilitation Act 2018. It lets investors submit proposals in a Common Application Form and secure approvals through an online clearance portal,” he said.