THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The industrial backwardness of Kerala is still a point that attracts heated debates among the investor community. Though Kerala has grown as a popular destination for the IT and tourism industries over the last 25 years, the absence of big names in the manufacturing sector still triggers debate that the state is unfriendly to industries.
Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), an agency entrusted with promoting industrial development in Kerala, was founded to lead the state’s industrial development. As the agency which was established on July 21, 1961 turns 60 on Wednesday, the state’s industrial sector is struggling hard to recover from the shock of a major garment manufacturer dropping its Rs 3500 crore expansion plan and migrating to Telangana.
As the KSIDC is getting ready to face fresh challenges in the post-Covid new normal economy, where things are going to be totally different with the introduction of online education, virtual meetings, self-delivery vehicles, automation, programmable body parts, medical implants, disease detention software, nutraceutical health care, AI and increasing use of algorithms etc., it is additionally burdened with the same task of marketing Kerala as an industrial-friendly destination, something which the agency was supposed to do in its initial decade.
KELTRON, which launched an electronic industry in the public sector much ahead of other states, traces its roots to KSIDC. Another major public sector enterprise in the state, Malabar Cements, was conceived, developed and implemented by KSIDC. The agency provided financial and professional support to KMML for technology updation and expansion during the seventies. Electrical major TELK, private ventures like the Apollo Tyres, Nitta Gelatin (erstwhile Kerala Chemicals and Proteins Ltd), had spread their wings with the help of KSIDC. Setting up the Cochin Special Economic Zone, first ever PPP-venture in Kerala in the surface transport sector - Mattanchery Bridge project, firms like Geojit, Veega Land, Lakeshore Hospitals, LeMeridian Hotel and Convention Centre received major support from KSIDC.
Projects like LNG terminal, Kochi-Bangalore Industrial Corridor-project etc. have successfully been initiated by KSIDC apart from industrial infrastructure projects like the Life Sciences Park and Mega Food Park which will be commissioned in the coming years.
Sources in the industrial sector say that the lack of focus in the later years slowed down the growth of KSIDC. An example, they cite, is KSIDC’s new found love for waste to energy treatment plans in Kerala towns. Though the state government had announced in 2018 it would set up seven Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants in two years under the stewardship of KSIDC, a garbage-free Kerala still remains a distant dream even in 2021. According to sources, the ambitious announcement didn’t have the support of a proven technology and the agency is still struggling to find an ideal technology partner for the project. Whether the agency needed to meddle with such a project is a question raised even by insiders.
When asked about the status of WtE projects, KSIDC chairman MG Rajamanickam said the KSDIC has limited role in the project as it is more in the domain of the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD). However, the KSIDC is doing its level best to coordinate the project with other departments, he said.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Rajamanickam also elaborated on KSIDC’s new role of initiating industry-friendly legislations and multi-departmental coordination. “Many of the projects undertaken by the KSIDC require multi-departmental coordination. It was KSIDC which took the lead role in formulating path breaking legislations such as ‘The Kerala Investment Promotion and Facilitation Act, 2018’ and ‘The Kerala Micro Small Medium Enterprises Facilitation Act, 2019’ to improve the ranking of Kerala in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) index. Single window clearance system K-SWIFT was one of the major steps towards easing the norms for starting industrial ventures,” he said.
Technocrat and former planning board member G Vijayaraghavan also said the K-SWIFT initiative was one that could imbibe the spirit of industry. “In fact, the KSIDC should become the single point of contact for the industrialists and entrepreneurs to get necessary clearances for starting ventures. They should provide all necessary approvals from respective departments after coordinating with them. It should also come up with orange, green yellow or red lists categorising the industries the Kerala looks for based on the requirement and speciality of the state,” Vijayaraghavan suggested.