Invest Kerala: Minister Announces Time-bound Roadmap

KOCHI:
The Kerala government has charted a time-bound roadmap for the realisation of business proposals received at the just-concluded Invest Kerala Global Summit (IKGS 2025), as Industries Minister P Rajeeve revealed today that authorities will evaluate the Expressions of Interest (EoIs) within two weeks.

A review committee will be formed under the state Chief Secretary to expedite approval of projects with coordination from allied departments, Rajeeve told a press meet here.

The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) will follow up on proposals for large projects worth more than Rs 50 crore each, while a special team under the Industries Directorate will follow up on the proposals of MSMEs with investments of less than Rs 50 crores. Projects related to Information Technology will be followed up by the IT department.

Regarding EoIs received at the summit, KSIDC will form a special team. Proposals on similar ventures will be split into seven sectors and taken care of by as many teams under an official of no less than manager rank. “Each team will have seven officers working with experts of the sector. The aim is to appoint 12 experts in the first phase,” the Minister revealed.

The progress on the work of the projects received at the February 21-22 conclave will be made available in the public domain through an online dashboard. The Principal Secretary (Industries) will hold a meeting once in two weeks to analyse the pace of the projects, while the Minister will evaluate them by chairing monthly sittings.

“In two months, we will be publishing remaining policy programmes related to the Industries Department,” Rajeeve said.

The Minister expressed the hope that the approvals could be given within four months after examining the details of the projects. “The EoIs will be examined in detail within two weeks, after which a list of viable projects will be prepared,” he revealed.

Authorities are setting up a portal to include information on private land available for industrial use. It will carry details on the land holdings of KINFRA, Department of Industries and private parties. “This will enable the linkage of land information of those interested in giving land to industrial use with information of those who need land for industrial use. This portal will soon be made available as part of the website,” Shri Rajeeve revealed.

So far, IKGS received EoIs for 372 projects worth more than Rs 1.52 lakh crore. “EoIs were trickling in even amid the closing ceremony,” the minister said. “Therefore, more projects will be included in the final list,” he pointed out.

The Minister also announced that authorities would, in a fortnight, convene a meeting of the industry and trade associations that collaborated with the government for the IKGS. “There, we’ll discuss their suggestions for implementing the projects,” he revealed.

The Invest Kerala website will soon upload a summary of the discussions held at the various sessions, besides their full videos.

Present at today’s media meet were Principal Secretary (Industries) APM Mohammed Hanish, KSIDC MD S Harikishore, Executive Director Hari Krishnan R, KINFRA MD Santhosh Koshy Thomas and K-BIP CEO Suraj S Nair.