To become industrial powerhouse, Kerala eyes Chinese model

“But there is no reason why LSGIs should not explore possibilities of setting up such units, or of encouraging potential entrepreneurs, singly or in cooperatives, to set up such units whose ownership and risk-taking patterns can take diverse steps”.

The paper, while referring to industrial activities and self -employment, draws another parallel with China. It says the argument that Keralites lack entrepreneurial talent is “at best a tautology” and a “proposition for which there is no independent evidence other than the very conclusion drawn from it”. The paper then states: “Similar propositions used to be advanced about the Chinese until China started emerging as an industrial power”.

It argues that given the magnitude and spread of purchasing power in Kerala’s economy, thanks to the substantial remittance inflows, there is scope for self-employment projects and small-scale industry. For this, the government plans to rekindle the “entrepreneurial spirit” in many ways — “creating post-graduate programmes in areas like biotechnology and IT with a management accounting component needed for running a successful business”.

The paper then reasons that Kerala has to move forward along this path instead of following the “waiting-for-the-MNCs” path.