The Hindu : 'Fast track' approval for GIM projects: CM

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

'Fast track' approval for GIM projects: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

KOCHI JAN. 18. The Kerala Government wants 2003-'04 to be the investment year, the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, has said.

He was addressing the investors at the inaugural session of the Global Investor Meet (GIM) here today. Mr. Antony assured the investors that the projects finalised at the GIM would be dealt on a `fast track' basis and necessary approval would be accorded in a time-bound manner. Detailed discussions would be held with different political parties about the project details and he welcomed the words of the Leader of the Opposition, V.S. Achuthanandan, that the Left parties were behind none in ushering in development from `genuine investors'.

The Chief Minister said that all doubts among political parties with regard to the outcome of the GIM would be cleared by the Government. Mr. Antony said that economic reforms were inevitable and the people had firm conviction that the State could not forge ahead without reforms. Though the `Kerala Model of Development' was socially relevant, it was time the State looked for alternative models of development which were both sustainable and growth-oriented.

He said the Government had been borrowing funds from financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to mobilise resources and it was now the turn of the investors to invest heavily here and make use of the infinite opportunities that the State presented.

The Chief Minister detailed the shift in policies and new policy initiatives in the Information Technology, Labour, Education, Tourism and Urban Development sectors which would usher in all-round development. The idea was to make Kerala the most investor-friendly State and to exploit the advantages through e-governance and IT-enabled service sector.

Mr. Antony listed the pluses of the State in the tourism and IT sectors and the silent revolution in the telecommunication sector. The idea was to make the State fully computer-literate by 2004.

The reception to the dignitaries was a classy act choreographed by the film personality, T.K. Rajeev Nath, which brought the innate culture of the State, the theme being the `nava rasas'.

There was a brief presentation, `Showcasing Kerala's investment opportunities', which was projected on the big screen.

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who inaugurated the GIM, also released a bunch of CD ROMs brought out for Kerala Tourism.

The Chief Secretary, N. Chandrasekharan Nair, proposed a vote of thanks.

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