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Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 15 There has been a quantum leap in development covering the various sectors and the State is going ahead with well-laid out programmes to further accelerate the process, according to the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan.

In his Independence Day address here, the Chief Minister said that sectors such as industry, information technology and tourism had been recording unprecedented growth in recent times.

Many of the public sector units that were facing closure had been turned around and steps had been initiated for forming joint ventures with Central PSUs as part of the rehabilitation of loss-making State PSUs.

The commencement of work on the Smart City project and the steps taken to set up IT parks in all the districts are pointers of the progress being made in the IT sector.

Two IT parks – one at Cherthala and the other at Ambalapuzha – are coming up in Alappuzha district, while measures have been set in motion to start parks in Kannur and Kasargod districts.

Also, a cyber park, on the lines of Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram and Infopark in Kochi, will be set up in Kozhikode to help the development of IT industries in north Kerala.

The Chief Minister said that after applying immense pressure, the Centre had sanctioned the establishment of a rail coach factory in Palakkad. The State would make available the required land and the basic infrastructure for the factory on a war-footing, he added.

He said that the main agenda for the immediate future was increase in agricultural production and the Government had formulated various schemes for the purpose.

For one, measures have been taken to make paddy cultivation profitable and the Government has been procuring paddy at a price that is more than what the Centre has prescribed.

The gradual increase in support price from Rs 7 to Rs 10 a kg over the last two years has led to a rise in paddy production. The State has also become a role model for the entire country by starting a scheme for extending interest-free loans for paddy cultivation.

Besides, the State has implemented a farm insurance scheme and widened the scope for crop insurance. The process for floating a pension scheme for farmers had also been completed, the Chief Minister said.

More Stories on : Economy | Kerala

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