Kerala created 5,839 jobs in 8 years with Rs 1520.69 crore investment: RTI reply
A RIGHT to Information (RTI) reply revealed that in the period of over eight years from 2016 to 2024, the Kerala government managed to create 5,839 jobs over an investment of Rs 1520.69 crore in companies with a turnover of Rs 5 crore.
The investment was reportedly made by the state government, however, it yielded less than 6,000 fresh jobs in Kerala for the said period.
The RTI response also showed that 119 enterprises in Kerala have benefitted from the financial assistance provided by the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), the state-level nodal agency responsible for promoting investments and enterprises.
The revelations were made public following a response, on February 15, to an RTI query filed by Kerala-based activist K Govindan Nampoothiry.
“In contrast, the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Kerala, maintained that the last 22 months have seen the creation of over 5 lakh jobs through their 'Year of Enterprises' scheme. They cited the initiation of 2,36,384 enterprises during this period, with an investment totalling Rs. 14,922 crore,” said Nampoothiry, quoting the RTI reply, a copy of which was accessed by India Today.
The RTI activist held that a wide gap in the investment of the Kerala government and the generation of employment indicated a short-sighted approach by the incumbent regime. He further called for urgent intervention to expand the benefits of state schemes,
“The stark difference in job generation and investment figures raises serious concerns over the effectiveness and productivity of the government's assistance schemes. These revelations bring to light the urgent need for a comprehensive review and modification of strategies aimed at bolstering investments and entrepreneurship in the state," he said.
The state government's lacklustre performance in ensuring effective utilisation of investments and promoting substantial job growth undermines its claims of making Kerala an attractive destination for investments, he added.
