Mumbai, May 15 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Tuesday said his government has a clear development agenda that is tailor-made to attract investments, and extended his invitation to business leaders to forge durable partnerships with the state.
"We aim to create an enabling environment to facilitate the transformation of the state into a business hub and a preferred investment destination," Chandy told a gathering of top business and corporate honchos besides heads of trade missions from abroad, here.
Fast-tracking the campaign to position Kerala as a thriving industrial state and hotbed for investments, Chandy was accompanied by Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty and Finance Minister K.M. Mani.
Describing business and corporate leaders as "our eminent stakeholders", Chandy said Kerala's development initiatives were consensus-based and his government had taken on board all political parties with regard to investments in mega projects.
"We intend to ensure that Kerala's economic growth is continuous, unaffected by political and governance changes," he said.
The meeting, organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), was part of a string of national and international road shows the Kerala government has planned in connection with its ambitious "Emerging Kerala-2012', which will be held at Kochi Sep 12-14.
The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is the nodal agency for the summit, which is intended as a biennial event.
Offering a raft of incentives and investment opportunities in Kerala, Chandy said the government has finalised a number of mega infrastructure projects for which it is seeking domestic and foreign investments.
These projects include Vizhinjam International Seaport, Petroleum Chemicals and Petro-chemicals Investment Region, Smart City project, Mono Rails in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikkode, Gas-based power plants and Titanium Sponge Plant apart from other mega projects.
Giving a firm assurance that his government was willing to go an extra mile in helping the interested entrepreneurs with proactive measures, Chandy said Kerala has worked out a fair and equitable labour policy, which is evident from the fact that the state did not lose a single man-day on account of labour strike in the last one year.
"Labour problem and trade union militancy are matters of the past and there is no place for such issues in a highly competitive business environment. Anyway, trade unions have now become disciplined and cooperative," he said.
He also warned of strict legal action against those indulging in disruptive activities.
The meeting was attended by representatives of public and private sector companies, including Reliance Industries ltd, Hinduja Group, SBI Capital Markets ltd, Tata International ltd, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Mahindra and Mahindra, JP Morgan, BPCL, Nuclear Power Corporation of India ltd, Marico India ltd, Johnson & Johnson ltd, iGATE and Hirco Developments Pvt ltd.
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