New industrial policy to turn the tide

The LDF government has formulated a new industrial policy to make Kerala, which is lagging behind in the industrial sector, as investment-friendly as possible and provide employment to as many people as achievable. Many benefits are part of the policy, including loans of up to Rs 10 lakh at four percent interest for new ventures. It has been announced that the government will provide 25 percent of the monthly salary of the workers in large enterprises, which provides permanent employment to more than fifty percent of the local workers. Enterprises involved in artificial intelligence based manufacturing activities, data mining and analytics will be reimbursed up to Rs.25 lakh of their expenditure. Electricity tax relief for small enterprises, refund of GST share, stamp duty exemption for women and scheduled caste enterprises, and other concessions and freebies that include various sectors are features of the new industrial policy. The aim is to make 2023-24 an investment-friendly year and the policy will be implemented with this aim in mind.

Actions will also be taken to revise the outdated laws and regulations that are hindering the development of the industrial sector. This is the first thing to be done for an industry to grow. Along with reforming the laws and regulations, interventions to change the colonial attitude of the officials who administer these are also needed. The approach of viewing the ones who come to start an industry as enemies must also be abandoned. The policy will remain in the books itself unless there is a fundamental change in the usual approach of the politicians who are out to drive away even the small entrepreneurs. When the mishaps of many businessmen are in front of them like a textbook, one would be very careful and concerned while investing money here. It is a fact that the industrial environment in the state has improved significantly during the past few years. Although the laws and regulations that have been fettering the start-up of enterprises have been substantially reformed, it cannot be said that it is entirely in favor of industrialists. Industrialists are still having trouble with many issues related to the revenue department, such as finding the land required for setting up an industry.

There are many officials not only in the industry department but also in the revenue department who have the mindset of preventing everything or at least delaying it as much as possible. They are not willing to budge on anything that has a chance of bribery. The success of the new industrial policy will depend on how much the industrial sector can be saved from the adversaries of development. A special team headed by the Principal Secretary has been appointed to speed up the implementation of the new industrial policy. The task they have to undertake is not simple. Needless to say, it is necessary in today's situation to forever change the poor reputation of Kerala as a bad place to invest money.