Government rules and procedures may not always be conducive to entrepreneurship, and are in need of fundamental changes.

This is how the Chief Secretary, Mr K. Jayakumar, sought to put it across to a session on ‘Reviving the economic growth of Kerala.'

The interactive session was organised here by the State council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

INTERFACE POINTS

Entrepreneurs should not feel that they have been tricked into a situation, he said. There is a need to reduce the number of points of interface between the government and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Merely adding more ‘windows' to the system in the name of simplifying procedures doesn't help either.

The Chief Secretary underlined the need to bridge the perception gap between the government and potential investors on venturing into new areas of enterprise.

“The government and industry should act in tandem to position the State as a serious investment destination”.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Mr Jayakumar said that the industry should be sensitive to the environmental concerns of the state while asking for land. Economic growth could not be allowed to materialise at the expense of the environment.

Kerala is an environmentally sensitive state and there is no trade-off between industrial growth and environmental conservation. “Please do not embark on actions that make decision-making a vulnerable process for bureaucrats,” he requested the gathering.

INDUSTRIAL OUTREACH

The Vice-Chairman of the State Planning Board, Mr K.M. Chandrasekhar, stressed the need for industrial outreach to utilise technology developed within the country.

The strong rural economy in India signalled opportunities for industry, he said. Taxation reforms and easier borrowing terms would facilitate the growth of the private sector.

Mr Chandrasekhar identified infrastructure, power, agriculture and manufacturing as priority sectors for India in the years ahead.

> vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in

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