Govt in Kerala committed in reviving viable PSUs

Thiruvananthapuram, June 16 : The new Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala is committed in reviving viable public sector industries by taking a series of measures like extending one-time assistance, technology upgradation, injection of fresh capital and improving the standards of corporate governance.

Addressing the opening session of the 12th Assembly, Governor R L Bhatia said CEOs would be selected solely on merit basis for which a selection committee would be constituted.

Recognising the need for providing world class and state-of- the art infrastructure as an essential condition for rapid indusrtrialisation of the state, he said the government proposed to float a public limited company on the model of the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL).

The government along with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the Kerala Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA) would have substantial percentage of share holdings in the proposed company.

The government also proposed to tap the vast potential of Non-Resident Keralites to raise the balance share capital. The company would build quality infrastructure required to attract high-tech industires.

It has also plans to set up a large food-processing park in Wynad district.

Mr Bhatia said the government proposed to create opportunities for value addition in the mineral sector. Instead of exporting raw and unprocessed mineral sands that fetched very low value, steps would be taken to move up the value chain, he said.

Recognising the critical role of IT as an enabler of employment generation and development, Mr Bhatia said the government proposed to create two lakh direct jobs in the IT/ITES/BPO sectors in the next five years by augmenting both public and private sector investments. Expansion of the IT sector was also expected to generate six lakh indirect jobs.

In order to achieve the objetives, the government would crearte an investor-friendly environment and develop the infrastructure.

Noting the strategic importance of promoting Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), he said the government would strive to make Kerala the FOSS industry destination of India.

The Governor said E-governance initiatives of the government would be given further impetus with the commissioning of State Wide Area Network by March 2007. The project would result in giving high-speed broadband connectivity to government offices up to the Block Panchayat level.

The 'Akshaya' E-literacy project would be revamped to make it more effective. About 30,000 'Akshaya' centres would be ready by the end of March 2007 to provide delivery of various government/local government and olther services to the people. To ensure quality of manpower for the IT industry, the government proposed to set up a certification mechanism for the various courses imparted through IT training centres in the state.

Mr Bhatia said the government also proposed to come out with a new IT/ITES policy shortly.

UNI