Despite Kerala’s impressive achievements in the social sector, the state has been battling the perception that it is not investor friendly. But are all kinds of industrial growth really desirable in a state with relatively high educational levels?
A debate about this question has been triggered by the announcement in July by Kerala-based industrial group Kitex that is shelving its plans to set up a garment factory in the state. The group says that it will open the unit in Telangana instead.
The Kitex group had proposed fresh investments in Kerala amounting to Rs 3,500 crores in January 2020, at the state government’s ASCEND global investors meet. However, in July 2021, Sabu M Jacob, the managing director of Kitex Garments Limited, announced that his company was withdrawing the proposal. He cited harassment from officials and interference from some politicians.
That the allegation that Kerala’s industrial bureaucracy was obstructing growth has come from Kitex, a…