Industrial Development & Economic Growth in Kerala

Kerala is known as God’s own country. It is one of the few states to have marketed its natural beauty successfully to the leisure tourism sector. The state’s unique heritage and cultural diversity have helped attract tourists from the world over. Its strategic location on the trans-national trade corridor, rich natural resources, and simple and transparent procedures make the state favourably suited for investments in major sectors such as tourism, IT/ITeS, manufacturing and mining.

Kerala holds second rank in the Investment Climate Index followed by Karnataka, as per a policy research working paper by the World Bank. The state stands second due to its world-class infrastructure and well-trained human resource pool. Kerala's traditional industries include handloom, cashew, coir and handicrafts.

Kerala is a leading agricultural state in the country and the largest producer of rubber, pepper, coconut and coir. As per budget 2018-19, Government of Kerala proposed an outlay of US$ 1,131.75 million for the Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Co-operation sector.

It has the first international transhipment terminal in India, having a design capacity of around 4 million TEUs and providing better connectivity between Kerala and other ports in India.

Between 2004-05 and 2015-16, Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) expanded at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.18 per cent to US$ 89.44 billion whereas the Net State Domestic Product (NSDP) expanded at a CAGR of 11.34 per cent to US$ 68.5 billion.

Under SEZ Act, 2005, Kerala has 29 formally approved SEZs, 25 notified SEZs and 19 exporting SEZs. The state has a techno park in Thiruvananthapuram which has been instrumental in attracting global electronics manufacturers, an info park in Kochi, and a cyber park in Kozhikode.

The following are some of the major initiatives taken by the government to promote Kerala as an investment destination:

• The Kerala government has decided to propose the tax reduction from 14.5 per cent to 5 per cent for attracting investments across Automated Robotic Car Parking System, during 2016-17.
• The Kerala urban area comprises of five Municipal Corporations and 60 Municipalities. The Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) is an Asian Development Bank-assisted project covering the five municipalities of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kollam and Thrissur. The project focuses on urban infrastructure improvement, community upgrading, local government infrastructure development and capacity building, and implementation assistance.
• The electronic hub proposed at Kochi is a prestigious project of the Government of Kerala to promote electronic hardware manufacturing and assembling units and R&D centres, and to support infrastructure for the same.
• Under the State Budget 2018-19, US$ 12.67 million is allocated for Tourism marketing and US$ 4.05 million for Kerala Tourism Development Corporation, Kerala Tourism Infrastructure Ltd, Bekal Resort Development Corporation, District Tourism Promotion Councils etc.
   

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