The Hindu Business Line : Being creatively industrious

As the new Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government gets down to business, the State's industrial and business sectors are keeping eyes wide open to see which way the winds of industry are going to blow under the fresh dispensation. As such, last week's announcement by Mr Elamaram Kareem, the State's Industries Minister, that Kerala's new industrial policy would aim to attract investments from non-resident Keralites (NRKs) and that the LDF Government was not against private investment, was more than welcome in industrial circles.

"The new policy will be ready before the next assembly session commencing in a month and priority will be given to NRKs to promote new industries in the State," the Minister told reporters in Kozhikode. He added that the State would tap the NRKs to start new industrial ventures in the State, keeping in mind the fact that the State was abundant in natural resources.

As for the private sector, the Minister clarified that "we only want to ensure that the private entrepreneurs do not exploit the State's resources." This may seem contradictory - extolling the State's plentiful natural resources, while in the same breath, warning against exploiting them. Of course, in this context, the Minister was using the term "exploit" not in the sense of "draw from or make good use of", but in the sense of "taking advantage of some vulnerability".

Yet, even as the Minister announced an industry-friendly approach, there were signs that some old mindsets and conventional wisdom were still prevailing. The Minister chose to specifically focus on the State's "traditional" sectors like coir and beedi manufacture. The LDF Government would work out a special renovation package for the workers of the Kannur-based Dinesh Beedi Co-operative Society, he said. The Minister also assured traditional coir workers that the Government would take care of them through a comprehensive revival package.

While no one can deny the importance of looking after the welfare of the workers in Kerala's traditional sectors, the fact is that many of their problems arise from lack of modernisation and technological upgradation, not to mention unimaginative marketing and branding efforts. Even the once-successful co-operative venture such as Dinesh Beedi has had to rest on its laurels, though it did try to diversify into new areas such as manufacture of jams and pickles.

Merely paying the conventional lip service to these sections would be not only disingenuous, but would also be patently unfair to the hundreds of workers who rely on these sectors for their livelihood. They need innovative and radically path-breaking moves to lift them out of their stagnation. That is what the new Government ought to do.

As for the State at large, the LDF needs to think big. Thus, the Chief Minister's continued interaction with the Information Technology (IT) sector was encouraging. Last week the Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, inaugurated the IBS Campus Foundation, promoted by IBS Software Services, one of the leading software firms in the State. (Earlier, soon after assuming office, the Chief Minister had held talks with US Technology, another major IT firm.)

If the LDF Government can sustain that kind of interest and goodwill among Kerala's industry and entrepreneurs, it can hope to make a mark in turning around the State's industrial fortunes.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com