Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 27 (Agency) Industry leaders Ratan Tata, Anand Mahindra and Nobel Laureate Prof Amartya Sen are among an impressive line-up of speakers to share their insights and suggestions at the February 1-3 global meet Kerala Looks Ahead (KLA) on taking the state forward by attracting investment from India and outside in the post-pandemic era. At a Special Industry session on February 3, other industry leaders who would attend include Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairperson of Axilor Ventures, M A Yusuff Ali, Chairperson of Lulu Group, Ravi Pillai, Managing Director of RP Group and Dr Azad Moopen, Chairperson and Managing Director of Aster Medcity. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Industries Minister E P Jayarajan will attend the special session.
On February 1, Vijayan will inaugurate the conference. Organised by the Kerala State Planning Board, Nobel laureate economist Prof Joseph Stiglitz and WHO Chief Scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan will be opening speakers of the meet on February 1, followed by two days of brainstorming on consolidating the core strengths of Kerala and adapting the best models for a bright future. The state will showcase a broad range of its robust and resilient industry before business leaders and stakeholders at the special session on industry, besides highlighting the enhanced Ease of Doing business backed by a string of policy interventions. The session will also explore the government interventions to modernize the critical sectors of economy by channeling constructive suggestions emerging during the conclave. “A defining feature of this conference is that it looks ahead to the views of industry veterans on laying down the road map for the state. The suggestions and consensus emerging from the deliberations could become vital inputs in strengthening our policy initiatives and addressing the gaps”, said Planning Board Vice Chairperson, Dr. V.K. Ramachandran.
“Kerala is keen to follow a development model of expediting economic growth without jettisoning its storied social security and welfare commitments. It is important to note that the participating industry leaders are known for their larger concerns for the less privileged sections of the society. This will make their views all the more significant in our context”, said Dr Venu V IAS, Member Secretary, Kerala State Planning Board. In another session on Industrial possibilities on February 2, Prof Myungjae Moon, Director of Institute for Future Government Studies, Yonsei University, will speak on South Korean experience in promoting industrial development and the economic growth possibilities for Kerala in the emerging global order. Besides Kerala Industries Minister E P Jayarajan, the session will see presentations by Mr Rizwan Soomar, MD and CEO, DP World-Port and Logistics, Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Ms Daisy Chittilapilly, MD, Digital Transformation, CISCO and Mr Tony Thomas, former CIO, Nissan Motor.