‘Kerala Looks Ahead’ Concludes; Amartya for Sustained Focus on Labour

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
A milestone global conclave to chart Kerala’s future in a post-Covid scenario concluded today with a call for continued social security, with Nobel laureate Dr Amartya Sen advocating sustained focus on labour, education and healthcare.

The three-day ‘Kerala Looks Ahead’ (KLA) highlighted the need for public discussion that relied heavily on humanity and reasoning. The 22 sessions on nine key sectors got an “overwhelming response” from experts across the world, Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan noted in the valedictory session of the virtual conclave organised by the State Planning Board.

Prof Sen, a world-renowned economist with Harvard University, said a look at the successes and failures of Kerala will pin the focus on labour. “I would be personally very optimistic about Kerala looking to the future,” he noted, citing not just its track record, but unique historical reasons that contributed to the state’s success.

Substantiating, Prof Sen recalled that Kerala’s first government in 1957 triggered animated discussions when the Communist regime saw movements related to labour, anti-untouchability and education as a major means of progress. “I think missionaries clearly played a role there too. So did the royalty in the two provinces that formed Kerala,” he said.

Kerala was one of India’s three poorest economies when the state was incepted six-and-a-half decades ago, Prof Sen recalled. In a couple of decades, the state “not only moved away from that position, but was competing for being one of the top three in terms of per capita expenditure”, he added.

The Chief Minister said KLA served two purposes. “First, it has stimulated national and international discussion between scholars and experts in the areas that were part of the conference. Second, many suggestions have emerged. There are issues of long-term and strategic interest to the state and also recommendations regarding policies that can be implemented in the short run.”

The Kerala administration will study these suggestions, which have come from all over the world, to look at ways they can be incorporated into policy, Vijayan noted in his concluding remarks.

State Planning Board Vice Chairperson Prof V K Ramachandran said Kerala “is poised for a new leap” into its economic future. “The conference did succeed in its efforts to learn about the best practices and achievements all over the world and their relevance to Kerala in a diversity of fields.”

Planning Board Member Prof R Ramakumar, summarising the sessions on Modernising Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries, said Kerala needs to focus on scientific interventions to raise its crop productivity, since the area of cultivation has reached near-saturation. Zero use of fertilisers is no way to improve soil health. “We must breed better-yielding hybrid variety of crops. Kerala should use gene editing technology and precision agriculture,” he said. “We need to focus on value addition of products such as paddy, rubber, coffee through farmers’ collectives.”

Kerala is poised to almost attain self-sufficiency in milk, but its procurement by cooperatives must double from the present 25 per cent. “By 2025 the state may have surplus milk, which will have to be used efficiently.”

Fish seeds are short by seven crores, as we need 12 crores of them in Kerala. Rapid and unplanned development should not be at the cost of fisheries. The scope of cage fisheries and ornamental fishes is yet to be explored fully.

Dr Jayan Jose Thomas, Member of the State Planning Board, said the sessions on Modern Industrial Possibilities noted that Kerala should make best use of its edge in technological advancement while being eco-friendly and inclusive. Kerala has become one of the most exciting industrial destinations, with the emergence of innovative MSMEs in the last three decades. Contrary to the popular notion, Kerala has of late been getting lands for industry in a big way.

As for Information Technology, the sector was one of the few that could move ahead steadily during the pandemic. “Digitisation will continue, indeed accelerate, with a drop in the barriers. There is a shift from IT services to solutions,” said Prof T Jayaraman, Member of the State Planning Board.

Kerala’s e-governance has been contributing to efficient departmental operations and faster turnaround times for citizen services. The discussions highlighted the need to attend to local production capacities and sensibilities for access to a wide range of social groups, pointed out Dr Amit Prakash Associate Professor, Centre for IT and Public Policy, International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore. “We should move to agile methods from plan-driven. Also, state agencies must work towards building trust on data collection, handling and usage practices.”

The session on Modern Skill Development highlighted the need to strengthen the link between education with employment. The speakers also called for gender equality in this sector, said Dr K Ravi Raman, Member of the State Planning Board, emphasising a simultaneous growth of rural and urban employability.

On Federalism and Development Financing, Prof K J Joseph, who is Director of Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation, said experts called for fixing issues related to GST. The state needs to support expatriates returning to their homeland amid the Covid-induced crisis. PSUs merit a boost, by introducing governance reforms.

Joy N R Chief of State Planning Board, analysed the session on tourism, while Dr Bindu P Varghese presented a digest of the session on higher education. The session on Local Governments was summarised by Ms Josephine J, Chief, Decentralised Planning Division of the State Planning Board.