Technology expert Sam Pitroda has said Kerala should take the lead in transforming the world after the COVID-19 crisis. He said the state can showcase its products with the help of the technology and the expertise of Keralites living in foreign countries.

Pitroda was participating in a discussion held as a prelude to Malayala Manorama's three-day webinar series on the future of Kerala after COVID on Tuesday. He joined the conference from Chicago in the US.

Edited excerpts from his speech:

We are in the middle of a third world war against Covid-19. The first and second wars had divided the world, but this one has brought all countries together.

The Covid-19 pandemic has given us a huge opportunity to redesign the world. The question before us now is what kind of world do we want after we get over this pandemic.

We have to take baby steps for this new world creation. The first step should be to make everybody comfortable. This can happen only if states can guarantee certain minimum income for everyone. We should provide people enough to eat, safety and shelter while we work on building a new world.

We have to use the power of connectivity to transform education, health and economic sectors.

Kerala should take the lead in changing the world after Covid. Kerala has the wherewithal to do that.

Kerala is a great example of diversity and secularism. The state is blessed with great weather, a lot of talent and huge diaspora. This is the best time to make Kerala the focal point of transformation. But to achieve this, Keralites should change their mindset.

I think Kerala should increasingly focus on the following five areas in the post-Covid world.

1. Textile industry: Kerala can easily find good market for its traditional textile products worldwide. It should get advanced technology support to ensure quality products.

2. Food industry: Kerala should find ways to popularise its coconut and other fruits in the global market. The state should harp on traditional farming methods, organic farming and zero-cost farming.

3. Health sector: Kerala's health sector is famous all over the world. Kerala is known for its dedicated healthcare workers. Now it should create good health culture, starting from eating right, exercising, controlling weight etc. The idea is not to build five-star hospitals, but to build a wellness culture.

4. Education: Kerala should emerge as world's education hub. It should ramp up its infrastructure and introduce cost-efficient education models to the world.

5. Ocean: Kerala should make use of it vast ocean front. It should develop ports, increase fishery production and energy creation.

Kerala should also take lead in environment protection, waste management and construction of homes.

The biggest asset of Kerala is its huge diaspora. The state should initiate plans to utilise their expertise in various fields. Select 100 of them and discuss their ideas in 10 areas. It will help in formulating Kerala's 3.0 vision guideline. Malayala Manorama should continue to provide platforms for such novel initiatives.

(Malayala Manorama is organising a three-day webinar series on the topic – Kerala: Beyond Covid – in association with Kosamattam Finance Limited. The first of the series will be held on Wednesday (May 13) from 3pm to 5pm. Chandran Nair (Group President, AEM Singapore PTE Limited), Sam Pitroda (Chairman, Pitroda Group), Raj Rajkumar (Partner, Director, Symphony Asia Holdings, Singapore) and Tony Thomas (Former CIO, Nissan) are on Wednesday's panel. To register, give a missed call to: +91-85890-05678.)