Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jun 28, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jun 28, 2002 |
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Industry & Economy
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Alternative Medicines Kerala: Talks on with Tatas for herbal park Our Bureau
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, June 27 THE Kerala Government has been talking to the Tata group for a possible tie-up in setting up a herbal park in the joint sector, according to Mr P.K. Kunhalikkutty, Minister for Industries. Replying to questions, the Minister told the State Assembly that Wayanad district was one of the areas being considered for setting up the herbal park. Elaborating on the agenda for the biotechnology sector, the Minister said that the Biotechnology Consortium of India had been told to work out an action plan for development of biotechnology and bioinformatics in the State. These constitute two of the thrust areas identified by the State Government for intensive development. The Minister said that biotech parks would be set up in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, and they would be able to attract private investments. "Kerala offers good scope for industrial application of biotechnology in areas such as agro-processing, horticulture, polyculture and herbal medicine. It is also blessed with conducive climate, trained human resources and research facilities." A task force called Team Bio Convergence had been constituted to study the potential of the biotechnology sector in the State. The task force also has experts from the field, the Minister said. Education policy: The Education Minister, Mr Nalakath Soopy, informed the Assembly that the State Government was in the process of preparing a comprehensive education policy. While replying to a calling attention motion, Mr Soopy agreed with the member that there was need for a comprehensive new policy to improve the quality of education in the State. The policy document would be discussed in the Assembly before being implemented. An expert advisory committee has been appointed to make recommendations for the policy, Mr Soopy said. Anti-narcotics movement: The Chief Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, informed the House that the State Government had taken steps to crack down on narcotics peddlers. He said this while replying to an adjournment motion sought leave for by an Opposition member who invited the attention of the House to frequent reports of seizure of narcotic material in many parts of the State. FDI in print media opposed: The Information and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr M.M. Hasan, told the House that the State Government had conveyed its concern over the Centre's decision to allow foreign direct investment in the print media. The Centre has been asked to reconsider the decision, he added. Pooyamkutty abandoned: The Kerala Government has, for all practical purposes, given up the proposal to set up a 240 MW hydel project at Pooyamkutty, as it has become increasingly clear that the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is opposed to the idea of clearing the same. This was stated by Mr A.K. Antony while replying to a question in the State Assembly seeking to know if the State Government had been able to convince the Centre about the project's significance for the State.
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