Finance Minister K M Mani has said that the banks in the state should work in tandem with the government for real and meaningful financial inclusion. He was speaking at the sectoral session on financial services at the ‘Emerging Kerala’ investors’ meet here on Friday. He added that banks should provide more funds to micro-finance institutions and high tech farming.
“The state receives around Rs 60,000 crore as remittance, but a huge chunk of it is routed to real estate investment. The money should be re-routed to productive projects. Projects like Vizhinjam, metro and monorail will change the face of Kerala,” Mani said.
Pointing out the importance of the Self Employment Entrepreneurial Mission, that envisages imparting entrepreneurial skills to 50,000 educated unemployed youngsters over a period of five years, the Minister said that the government through Kerala Financial Corporation will give interest-free loans of Rs 20 lakh to the entrepreneurs who pass the programme.
The first batch of entrepreneurs has completed training and the second batch is currently under way, the Minister added.
During the panel discussion V P Joy, Principal Secretary (Finance), Govt of Kerala, said that the state is on the path of financial consolidation. He added that the revenue deficit of the state will be reduced to zero per cent by 2015. Subir Gokarn, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India, called for balancing innovation and regulation while extending the scope of the financial services in Kerala.