The State Government is committed to developing adequate infrastructural facilities to ensure continued growth of the economy, according to the Minister for Industries and IT, Mr P. K. Kunhalikkutty.
The Minister said this here in an address delivered to a meeting held to felicitate business houses for achieving maximum exports during the last financial year through the air cargo complexes at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode run by Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE).
FIRST TIME
This was the first time the best performing business houses were being feted in this manner, an official spokesman for KSIE said here.
The awards were instituted with the purpose of encouraging exports through the two air cargo complexes, according to a KSIE spokesman.
Mayi Exports and Daliya Exports won the ‘Export Excellence' awards for 2010-11 while ‘Export Promotion' awards were given away to others for achieving export figures in excess of 1,000 tonnes.
These included Fair Exports, Robin Export, Krishna Traders, Pomona Exporters, Panachamottiil Exporters, K. B. Exports and Imports and Original Foods.
The Minister gave away the prizes at the function, which was attended among others, by Ms K. Chandrika, Mayor, Thiruvananthapuram Corporation; Mr O. Sooraj, Chairman, KSIE, and Director, Industries, Kerala; Mr Febi Varghese, Managing Director, KSIE, Mr E. M. Najeeb, Secretary, Thiruvananthapuram Chamber of Commerce; and Mr Dil Koshy, Secretary, Agricultural Products and Processed Foods Exporters' Association.
KSIE was set up as a holding company in 1973, but is now mainly responsible for running the air cargo complexes, the spokesman said.
It has entered the e-commerce domain and also hosts the ‘virtual office' of the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority.
Lately, KSIE has been in the news for reviving Kerala Sops and Oils as also for efforts for setting up a container freight station at Kalamassery near Ernakulam, which is expected to go on stream soon.
A profit-making public sector enterprise over the past 12 years, KSIE netted a profit of Rs 6.03 crore during 2010-11.