KOCHI: Expressing his concern about the migration of youth in search of jobs, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the government aims to create more job opportunities along with education through projects like ‘industry on campus’ and ‘young innovators programme’.
“Our youths impressed by the job opportunities abroad are migrating to other countries. We know their worries about careers. Our projects will help create more opportunities here,” said the CM while inaugurating Professional Students’ Summit at Adlux Convention Centre.
He said that the government is trying to raise the quality of education in the state and compulsory internships will be extended to all courses. CM said people are spreading false propaganda that Kerala is not an industrial-friendly state. “The youth are scared of such misinformation. The Government considers their worries in this regard,” Pinarayi said.
“The youth should not believe in such false information. The first IT park and the first electronic products company in India are in our state. Kerala is the hub for global spices production, 75% of the seafood processing companies with the U certificate is in Kerala, and we have one of the largest medical equipment production companies functioning in Kerala,” added CM.
Adding further, he said the government’s projects aiming to improve enrolment in colleges in the state have an evident impact. According to the economic survey report, the rate of student enrolment in colleges in Kerala has increased to 43.2%. “These figures are the result of the projects put forth by the government. Now we aim to make it to 75%,” said CM.
While speaking about entrepreneurship, he said that the government will provide all facilities and assistance to those who come up with innovative ideas for business. “We could start 130481 enterprises that attracted investments worth Rs 8000 crore and created 2,80,000 job opportunities in the state as part of the entrepreneurship year,” said CM. He also assured that the youth with innovative ideas for business will be provided with all facilities and assistance from the government side.
CM also said that the government has allocated Rs 10 crore for medical equipment production and Rs 559 crore for the IT sector in the budget. Higher Education Minister R Bindu presided over the inaugural session while Padmabhushan Dr. Krishna Ella delivered the keynote address. The Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) and the Government of Kerala organised the summit. Experts from different streams interacted with the students.
Young minds keep CM Pinarayi Vijayan busy at Students Summit
The Professional Students Summit 2023 in Kochi saw Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan engaging in an exciting and insightful interaction with students. Students from different streams raised their questions to the CM. Of the nine questions asked, one raised by S Aparna was indeed relevant to the current scenario in Kerala. She asked, “Many students are going abroad for studies and jobs.
Is unemployment in Kerala a reason for this? What can government do to solve this?” The CM met this question with facts and figures. While admitting that the trend of people going abroad for higher studies is more prevalent in Kerala, he pointed out that some people and the media are using this statistic as a means to degrade the education system in Kerala. “However, this should not demotivate the students here,” the CM said.
“In 2016, the estimated enrollment rate to colleges was 10.33. The latest report shows 13.64. The number of people going abroad for higher studies too has decreased off late,” the CM pointed out. Gopika’s question was regarding the inclusion of the law in the school syllabus. The CM replied that the government would find out what areas of the law could be added to the syllabus when it is due for updation. Gopika is a student of the Nehru Academy of Law.
To K Najia’s question about the need to improve the medical sector in Kerala, the CM explained that “the state was well equipped to deal with Covid. Over 370 students from different streams participated in the Summit.
‘Unscientific GST reforms hurting hotel sector’
Kochi: Unscientific reforms introduced as part of the goods and services tax have had the most negative impact on the hotel and restaurant sector, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He was speaking after inaugurating the state conference of the Kerala Hotel & Restaurant Association (KHRA) on Saturday. “There is confusion about what to tax and how much to tax. Hotels find themselves in a higher GST slab despite opposition from various quarters. Food items have also been included in the GST. Along with daily necessities, cooking gas prices have also increased drastically,” the CM said. “The Centre is triggering a crisis for the hotel and restaurant industry through these measures,” he said. The CM directed KHRA officials to ensure that its members are following stipulations.