PINARAYI MEANS BUSINESS
His Japan-South Korea tour attracted Rs 300 crore in investments, but the opposition is still unimpressed
In his threeand-a-halfyear tenure, Pinarayi has made business trips to the UAE, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, US and the UK
Pinarayi Vijayan is on a mission to rebrand Kerala as an attractive investment destination. The chief minister recently returned from a 10-day tour of Japan and South Korea where the state explored technological and economic cooperation and sought investment in industries, tourism and fisheries. Investments
to the tune of Rs 300 crore came through during the visit, Pinarayi informed the media on his return. He said while Japan’s Nitta Gelatin Inc. has promised an investment of Rs 200 crore to manufacture gelatin for pharmaceuticals and food applications, Terumo Corp., another Japanese firm, will put in Rs 105 crore to manufacture blood bags. Both companies already have investments in Kerala.
Pinarayi’s latest tour had come amid allegations by the opposition that his international travels were “pleasure trips with family” that were bleeding the exchequer. “It’s a clear case of extravaganza at a time the state is reeling under a financial crisis. Pinarayi
Vijayan has driven the state to peril,” alleged Mullappally Ramachandran, chief of the state Congress Committee.
Pinarayi defends his foreign travels, saying: “My tours are for the youth of Kerala. We need mega investments to fast-track development.” According to a senior bureaucrat who was part of the delegation to Japan and
Korea, “The chief minister had a hectic schedule. He showcased Kerala before investors and sought their cooperation. This is the first time a Kerala chief minister is making efforts to market the state to global investors.”
Coming to power in May 2016, one of Pinarayi’s priorities has been to improve the state’s business environment.
With Kerala ranked 21st in the state-wise ease of doing business rankings for 2017, he had his work cut out. Pinarayi aimed to turn Kerala into a hub of service and technology in order to create jobs and dispel the investor-phobia typically associated with communist governments. “In 2018, Pinarayi Vijayan put an end to nokkukooli (gawking fees) charged by trade unions. In Kerala’s context, it was not easy,” says an aide of the chief minister. “He also streamlined industrial policies. In the past three and a half years, 11 global companies have set up projects in the state.”
The government has also introduced single-window clearances for projects, with an officer of the rank of additional private secretary monitoring proposals and cutting delays in issuing licences to industry. Under K-Swift, the Single Window Interface for Fast & Transparent Clearance, the government has assured clearance to projects within 30 days of applying.
In his tenure, Pinarayi has led business delegations to the UAE, US, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and the UK. The government says the visits attracted foreign investments worth around Rs 1,700 crore—in IT, health, tourism, education, fisheries and manufacturing.
“The Left government has [declared] its performance record every year. We are committed to providing Kerala a new direction,” says LDF convenor A. Vijayaraghavan. He is confident that the opposition’s campaigns against the Pinarayi government will be rejected by the people and their enhanced quality of life will speak for the chief minister’s governance model. ■