The Hindu Business Line : Trade promotion board mooted to attract investments to Kerala

A new scheme modelled on the `New Anna Marumalarchi Thittam' in Tamil Nadu to promote agro-based and food processing industries is one of the proposals.

Thiruvananthapuram , Nov. 15

The constitution of a Kerala Trade Promotion Board is one of the recommendations made by a committee formed by the Government to look for new avenues to promote investment in the State.

The recommendations of the committee, which were compiled after studying successful models in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, may be incorporated in the new industrial policy to be announced by the Government some time next month.

The trade promotion board, on the lines of the Kerala Bureau for Industrial Promotion (K-BIP), will organise trade fairs within the country and abroad and invite participation in export promotion activities such as buyer-seller meets and contact programmes and also undertake market studies for the micro, small and medium enterprises.

New scheme

The committee has proposed a new scheme modelled on the `New Anna Marumalarchi Thittam' in Tamil Nadu to promote agro-based and food processing industries in rural areas. The scheme will cover all agro-based industries and food processing activities, including marine foods, herbal and Ayurveda products. This project, spread over five years, may be implemented in all the blocks in the State, except in municipalities and corporation areas.

The minimum project cost per unit should be Rs 10 lakh or above and not more than Rs 1 crore. The target could be establishment of units with a total project cost of Rs 1 crore per block per year and the scheme may be continued for five years starting from 2007-08.

It has also been recommended that a `technology information committee' may be formed at the State level to identify suitable projects for the scheme and to disseminate appropriate technology to the entrepreneurs.

Clearance panels

Another proposal is for constituting a `State high-level clearance committee' with the Chief Minister as Chairman and the Industries Minister as the Vice-Chairman. This committee will accord clearance to investment proposals above Rs 10 crore in plant and machinery. To facilitate the functioning of the committee, it has been recommended that the Kerala Single Window Clearance Board and Industrial Township Development Act may be modified and amended suitably.

The constitution of another State level clearance committee with the Industries Minister as the chairman has also been suggested to attract and accord clearance to investment proposals above Rs 5 crore but below Rs 10 crore in plant and machinery.

The two state-level committees should have a secretariat and the panel has recommended that K-BIP may be upgraded for the purpose.

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