A vision to improve the Kerala model

‘Nava Keralam’ (New Kerala) was the topic of discussion at the CPI(M)’s recent state conference in Ernakulam, in which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, a member of the party’s politburo, proposed an alternative to rejuvenate the ‘Kerala model’. Policy route presented. ‘ A standstill was believed to have been hit. According to party insiders, certain factors made this road map mandatory. While the state ranked high on several social and sustainable development parameters, its inability to boost production, develop infrastructure and create jobs was telling. The recent turn of events including return migration and change in its demographic added to the churn. But the last straw appeared to be fiscal federalism and a continuing blow to the GST regime, which tightened the noose around the state’s finances.

The last time the party, the undivided CPI, adopted such a vision plan, was in 1956, a year before the world’s first democratically elected communist government came to power in Kerala. Subsequent governments prioritized welfare over development with commendable results. But the current Vision Document, which has not been released into the public pending discussions within the LDF, is fundamentally different in that it focuses on accelerating production and development with the aid of ‘private investment’, once the Left. Curse for, while not relinquishing the government’s commitment to welfareism or environmental protection.

This sparked a debate as to whether the CPI(M) had abandoned its ideological adherence to socialism. Party ideologues pointed to China and Cuba, saying the effort was to marry ‘best practices’ in socialist economies and capitalist countries to develop a model that would ensure social justice and development while ensuring the upliftment of the poor. and provide development. Therefore, when the party came under fire for making a vehement call in the document for the establishment of research-oriented higher educational institutions in the “government, cooperative and private sectors and the private-public-partnership model”, the defense was that it was Important to turn Kerala into a ‘Knowledge Economy’. While it welcomes private investment, the document proposes the creation of a monitoring framework to ensure social justice and maintain the quality of higher education “even in the private sector”.

A week after the CPI(M) state meeting ended, the state budget took a step forward on the ‘knowledge economy’ by announcing specific schemes with allocations. It sought private investment for industrial facility parks under public sector units to enhance industrial development and setting up of four science parks at ₹1,000 crore over three years for applied scientific research in highly specialized areas such as microbiome and genomics. proposed. A skill infrastructure ecosystem with 14 skill parks was envisaged to provide 20 lakh employment opportunities under the Knowledge Economy Mission. It said the university campus will house translational research centres, startups and incubators, thereby synergizing highly academic research and industry – a move aimed at encouraging value-added production.

While the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) is still being relied upon for infrastructure expansion, there is a perception that it should not be a case of all eggs in one basket, this is because KIIFB is a kind of eyesore. has become the light. Center. This puts the government in jeopardy as it has chalked out many ambitious projects. Therefore, there is a need to explore alternative sources of funding.

It is given that the ‘Kerala model’ is at a crossroads. Though opposed to the vision plan, it could pave the way for a new development paradigm for Kerala, by addressing the existing shortcomings.

• While the state ranked high on several social and sustainable development parameters, its inability to boost production, develop infrastructure and create jobs was telling.

• The undivided CPI adopted a vision plan in 1956 and subsequent governments prioritized welfare over development with commendable results. But what makes the current approach fundamentally different is that it focuses on accelerating production and development with the help of ‘private investment’, which was once a bane for the Left, whereas welfareism or The government did not abandon the commitment of the government to protect the environment.

• The state budget calls for private investment for industrial facility parks under public sector units to spur industrial development and four in ₹1,000 crore over three years for applied scientific research in highly specialized areas such as microbiome and genomics. It is proposed to set up a science park.

anandan.s@thehindu.co.in