The Hindu Business Line : Kerala to study problems afflicting PSUs

The new Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government in Kerala will study the problems afflicting public sector units in the State and look for ways to solve them, according to the Industries Minister, Mr Elamaram Karim.

At a meet-the-press programme here on Saturday, he noted that Kerala had the largest number of public sector undertakings in the country. The problems and prospects of the undertakings would be studied on a unit-by-unit basis before deciding on what should be done, he said.

Units with potential to perform better will need infusion of funds and the Government will consider launching a special purpose vehicle to mobilise the required funds, the Minister said.

He pointed out the State was endowed with rich resources of mineral sand. However, people had fears about their exploitation. The Government will conduct environmental impact studies before taking decisions on sand mining, he said. However, what was important was value addition within the State to protect its interests, he added.

Mr Karim said the Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd at Chavara in Kollam district and Travancore Titanium Products Ltd in Thiruvananthapuram were undergoing expansion of capacities and diversification of products. There was still scope for further expansion of these units, he added.

The Minister said that he was yet to study the problems faced by the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector contributed just eight per cent to the State's Domestic Product in 2002-03.

Old industrial units were struggling and new ones have not come up in the State, he said. The challenging task for the Government was to revive the manufacturing sector, in order to provide employment to semi-skilled and unskilled workers, Mr Karim said.

Another priority will be to revive the beedi and handloom industries. The Government will draw a rehabilitation package for Dinesh Beedi Co-operative Society in Kannur district. It would also seek the assistance of the National Co-operative Development Corporation and similar agencies to revitalise the handloom sector, he added.