KOZHIKODE, 22 September 2007 — Kerala has signed an agreement with Malaysia to build a Rs.25 billion township in this northern town that will include a medical complex, entertainment centers and a 275-acre industrial zone. The project will create more than 25,000 jobs.

The project — to be built in Kinlaur industrial area on the outskirts of the city — is seen as a way to revive the declining industrial sector of northern Kerala and the second biggest joint venture project after Dubai Tecom Investment’s SmartCity in Kochi.

“The project would be a major step toward industrialization,” Elamaram Karim, Kerala’s industries minister, said.

It is also to house knowledge-based industries, schools, a helipad and an industrial park and is to take five years to complete with the help of private firms from both countries.

The MOU was signed between P.H. Kurien, managing director of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corp. (KSIDC) and Hamzah bin Hasan, chief executive officer of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) of Malaysia in the presence of Malaysia’s Works Minister Samy Vellu here last week. A 15-member delegation from Malaysia, including officials and executives of various industries, attended the event.

“The township would comprise knowledge-based industries, medical city, education city and other new generation industries that have industrial and commercial potential,” Vellu said.

“The master plan would be ready within six months and the project will be implemented in stages over a period of five years,” he said.

Another Malaysian firm has also offered to set up condominiums as well as office complexes on a 50-acre plot near Karipur airport to cater to the needs of information technology professionals and businessmen.

According to the proposal, an estimated Rs.5 billion will be provided by the CIDB for the project and an additional Rs.20 billion has been earmarked for industrial investment.

“Malaysian contractors have implemented projects in India that include roads, highways, bridges, and power plants and projects related to community housing development,” Vellu said.

Unemployment Declines

A study conducted by the Center for Development Studies (CDS) revealed that unemployment has declined from 19.1 percent in 2003 to 9.4 percent in 2007. The number of the unemployed came down by 124,000 during the period and the number of employed increased by 560,000, mostly in the private sector.

The proportion of Kerala households having a Non-Resident Keralite (NRK) remained exactly at the same level of 25.8 percent. There has also been a decline in the number of Keralites migrating to other states in this period. According to the study, the state received Rs.245 billion by way of external remittance in the fiscal 2006-07.

This forms 20 percent of Kerala’s Net State Domestic Product (NSDP). In 2003, remittances were 22 percent of the GDP while it was about 25 percent earlier. “There’s no more a mad rush for migration from the state. Also there seems to be a growing trend in the remittances being used for investment in employment-generating avenues, instead of the earlier practice of dumping all the money in the housing sector. Demographic transition manifested by the decline of the proportion of the people in the age group of 15-24 years could be one of the reasons for the decline in the out-migration rate from the state,” Prof. K.C. Zachariah and Dr. Irudaya Rajan who conducted the study said.

“During the first 50 years of the last century, Kerala was an in-migrating state. Kerala is likely to return to the status of an in-migrating state. Gulf migration is not as widespread as is often depicted in the media,” they said.

Kochi Trade Show Begins on Sept. 27

Around 150 domestic and 50 international buyers will participate in the Trade and Technology Business Show (TTBS) to be held here from Sept. 27 to 29. The show will also feature 50 domestic and 25 international exhibitors and they will consist of manufacturers, technology providers and research institutes, Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem told reporters here. TTBS is being organized by the Department of Industries in association with the Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (KBIP), Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation.

Issuance of Passports

The federal government has decided to outsource processing work for passports to cope with the rush and to provide passport within the shortest possible time. “A record number of 4.4 million passports were issued in 2006 from 32 Regional Passport Offices as against 3.57 million the previous year and when I took charge as minister a total of three million passports were issued,” State Minister for External Affairs E. Ahamed said. “It will increase in the future and we need to outsource related work to private agencies. Embassies of many countries like USA, UK, Germany, Australia and Canada are already doing it,” he added.

School of Mathematics Planned

India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) for setting up school of mathematics in Kozhikode. The institute attempts to reestablish the high and enviable mathematical tradition, which existed in the state centuries ago.