KOCHI: In a move to give a much-needed fillip to entrepreneurship in the state, Kerala will celebrate the year 2022 as the 'Year of Entrepreneurs'.
Industries Minister P Rajeeve said that the government has put a target of establishing 100,000 micro medium-small enterprises (MSMEs) in 2022, the 'Year of Entrepreneurs'. "We want to celebrate 2022 as the Year of Entrepreneurs. The focus will be on encouraging entrepreneurship. In the new year, we have fixed a target of 100,000 new MSMEs," Rajeeve said, interacting with select financial journalists here.
The Minister said that the plan is also to encourage micro-enterprises to grow and become small enterprises and then to medium-scale units. "What has been happening is most of the micro-enterprises remain micro-units and small enterprises remain small. We want to help them grow, which will help in creating more jobs," he said, adding that the MSMEs will be a key segment for Kerala's economic revival.
Since the LDF government came to power in 2016 to date a total of 4,700 MSMEs have come into being in the state. "This is more than the number of MSMEs that existed till then in the state. We have grown more than 100 percent in the last five, five-and-half years," he said.
The minister said the state was able to get assurance for Rs 7,000 crore worth investments through its 'Meet the Investor' progamme, where top officers led by the minister directly talk with entrepreneurs who are willing to invest Rs 100 crore or more. Companies like Synthite Industries, Dhatri, Nitta Gelatin and Plant Lipids have committed a total invest Rs 7,000 crore.
Similarly, Tata Elxsi, a leading design and tech service provider, signed an MoU with Kinfra to expand its facilities in Kerala, with an investment of Rs 75 crore in the first phase. Another big investment attracted by Kerala was from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the second-most valued company in India. The company is setting up an 'Innovation Park' in KINFRA Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Kakkanad, Kochi, which is expected to create 10,000 jobs when the project is fully operational.
He said the focus of Kerala is on 'ease of living', constantly striving to improve the standard of living of its people. Further, with attractive settings and robust internet connectivity, the government will also market the state as an ideal destination for 'Work from Kerala'.