Investment worth Rs 40,000 cr formalised

Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said investment to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore had been formalised during the the 3-day session. The joint venture of state government and public sector BPCL accounts for the the major component of this.

Earlier, speaking to meadipersons, he said Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh had agreed in- principle to most of the 16 specific projects chalked out by the government. The Prime Minister had entrusted his adviser TKA Nair to look into 13 of the 16 projects submitted to him.

One of the major projects of the state is to launch Air Kerala to cater to the non-resident Keralites in view of the air fare hike, especially from Gulf destinations. “We have urged the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter as the Centre is objecting to the proposal. We sought a special waiver in the norms, similar to the one given to Air India Express, that an airline should operate for five years in the domestic sector before beginning international flights and that it should have a minimum of 20 aircraft,’’ he said.

 

The state has also sought a grant of Rs 300 crore to start a medical college with a provision for 50 per cent reservation for students belonging to SC and ST categories, the first-of-its-kind in the country, he said. The proposed medical college will also reserve 10 per cent seats to SC/ST students out of the merit quota, among other projects.