The panelists at the discussion on 'New Kerala: The Opportune Moment' at Manorama News Conclave 2019 differed widely on many aspects of the Kerala growth story but had no doubt about one thing: this was the most ideal moment for the state to change its growth paradigm.
Finance minister T M Thomas Isaac said the New Kerala would emerge in 15 years. He said the paradigm shift had already begun. “Till now we had used redistributive justice to improve people's quality of life. But then basic production sectors had never changed. Now, along with redistribution, we would like to focus on a growth that is pivoted on appropriate industries,” Isaac said.
He sought to strike a difference between Gujarat and New Kerala. "In Gujarat, it is only about industries. But in New Kerala, it will be about both industries and the common man," Isaac said.
Here are the three major sectors that would bring about a paradigm shift in the Kerala growth story: Knowledge-based industries, skill-based hardware and light engineering and service-based tourism.
Aruna Sundararajan, the secretary of the Union Department of Telecommunications, said there were two things that no one could disagree. One, environmentally destructive practices are going to be increasingly costly. Two, technology has to be used in a big way to secure competitive advantage.
“We have missed the manufacturing bus and even the start-up bus,” Sundararajan said. “But now we are in a position to leapfrog. Some time last year, the backbone of infrastructure has shifted from physical to digital. More goods are now transported in the form of data than in physical form,” she said.
Isaac said this was exactly why the K-Fone project, which envisages 100 per cent internet connectivity for the state, would turn out to be the game-changer for the state.
Dr Viju Jacob, the managing director of Synthite Industries, warned the minister that Kerala was not giving tourism the needed impetus. “Our roads are very bad. Lots of people are complaining about the roads,” Viju Jacob said.
He called for innovative solutions. For instance, he suggested a cable car facility from Adimali right to Munnar. Adeeb Ahamed, the CEO of Lulu International Exchange, too felt this was the right time for Kerala to change. “Even while saying this, there is age-old problem. Infrastructure. It is the largest problem that is crippling Kerala's economy,” Adeeb said.
The finance minister agreed about the bad condition of roads. “There is corruption, I agree,” Isaac said. “But that is not the basic issue. Kerala has the highest road density in the country. But as for quality, it is the lowest. We spent less per kilometre,” Isaac said.
He said modern construction methods had to be employed. “We have to build better. See the KSTP roads. They last long unlike the PWD roads that need maintenance one or two years later,” the minister said. He admitted that even he was sceptical of the high cost of KSTP roads earlier. “When we do a cost-benefit analysis, maintenance costs will have to be factored in,” he said.
Nonetheless, the finance minister said the paradigm shift of course would be a painful process. Isaac called it the QWERTY problem. “Changing the development pattern would be as difficult as changing the alphabet pattern on keyboards,” Isaac said.