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Cyclone Ockhi, 2 floods, Nipah, and now Covid-19: Winning times for Vijayan

In the industrial sector, the government is credited with the push given to start-ups. The state government data says their number has gone up from 300 in 2016 to 2,200 now

Pinarayi Vijayan , Narendra Modi
premium

In 2016, PM Modi had sought Kerala CM Vijayan’s co-operation in completing the 444-km GAIL pipeline project. After four years in office, the completion of the ‘improbable’ project is considered a feather in the chief minister’s cap | Photo: PTI

Shine Jacob New Delhi
It was May 28, 2016, when two of the sharpest leaders and shrewdest administrators in contemporary Indian politics had their first meeting in the national capital. One, a newly assumed Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, and other, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.

After customary greetings, the first topic that came up for discussion was proof that both leaders meant business. Modi sought
the state government’s co-operation in completing the 444-km GAIL pipeline — the Kochi-Koottanad-Bengaluru-Mangaluru pipeline project (KKBMPL).


Even a decade after it was conceptualised,