KOCHI: Kerala has emerged an achiever in the State Investment Potential Index 2018, based on the six pillars of land, labour, infrastructure, economic climate, political stability and governance and business perception, a top investment meet here was told Monday.

The Kerala-specific findings of the survey, conducted by the National Council of Applied Economic Research, titled 'NCAER-State Investment Potential Index 2018' (N-SIPI) were released at ASCEND KERALA 2019 here.
NCAER Director-General Dr Shekhar Shah, speaking at the first plenary of ASCEND KERALA 2019, aimed at empowering enterprises, said Kerala ranks fourth on how it is perceived as an investment destination, after Gujarat, Haryana and West Bengal.

"The perception driven pillar is a unique component of the N-SIPI,which focuses on the policy and structural backdrop that determines the business environment in a state," he said.

Earlier opening the discussions, Vice Chairman of the Kerala State Planning Board V K Ramachandran noted that when one mentions Kerala, the things that come to the mind are

health, education, water and greenery.

Even while retaining those, the Governments intention is to add manufacturing as a synonym of Kerala.

"The depth of the home market in Kerala can be leveraged,' the Chairman of the session, Shri Ramachandran added.

Invest India Vice President Dushyant Thakur spelt out the 10 investment strategies for Kerala, including investible projects; translating sustainable development goals into projects; asset recycling; aftercare and business models.

"The business model in Kerala is unlike any other, Israel being possibly the only parallel in the areas of innovation and startup," he said even while adding that aftercare was one critical aspect that states generally do not pay attention to.

Aeka Biochemicals Managing Director Aardra Chandramouli recounted her experiences of being a startup entrepreneur in Kerala.

"The Government has given thrust to biotech and green initiatives. The state is environmentally aware with an educated customer base that accepts technology-driven products and processes," she said and hoped that going forward the startup 'silo effect' would be addressed.

NavAlt Solar and Electric Boats CEO Sandith Thandasherry said India's first solar ferry 'Aditya' has plied over 40,000 kilometres, carried over 6.5 lakh people in the last two years,in the process preventing 150 tonnes of carbon emission.

The manufacturing sector in Kerala needs exemption from hartals, he added.