THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Industries minister P Rajeev on Monday said that the government will prevent industries from leaving the state due to raids and procedures. He said that a simple and industry-friendly centralized system will be created by controlling raids. A law will be introduced for this. The draft will be approved by the next cabinet meeting.

The minister made the announcement at a press conference after a high-level industry committee meeting convened by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to discuss the Kitex controversy.

The new law will be a continuation of the Ease of Doing Business activities and the Kerala Investment and Facilitation Act initiated by the previous government. There will be a statutory grievance redressal mechanism. The announcement comes as part of the process to address the backlash caused by the Kitex controversy. The goal is to become one of the top ten industry-friendly states in the country.

Provisions of the law

• A centralized system instead of separate inspections by each department
• Industries will be categorized into low, medium, and high-risk categories
• In low-risk industries, inspections will be conducted either once a year or online
• In high-risk industries, inspections will be conducted once a year after issuing notice.
• The list of officers to take part in the inspection will be prepared and selected through computer.
• The inspection report will be given to the establishment owner within 48 hours. It will be published on the web portal.