Ratan Tata, Amartya Sen to address Kerala conference

PTI, Jan 27, 2021, 5:13 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: Industry leaders RatanTata, Anand Mahindra and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen are amongan impressive line-up of speakers expected to share theirinsights and suggestions at the ambitiousglobal meet, KeralaLooks Ahead (KLA).

The three-day event, beginning on February 1 is envisagedto take the state forward by attracting investment from thecountry and outside in the post-pandemic era.

At a Special Industry session on February 3, otherindustry leaders who are expected to attend include KiranMazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, KrisGopalakrishnan, Chairperson of Axilor Ventures, M A YusuffAli, Chairperson of Lulu Group, Ravi Pillai, Managing Directorof RP Group and Azad Moopen, Chairperson and Managing Directorof Aster Medcity, an official statement said here.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanwould inaugurate theconference on February 1.

Vijayan and Industries Minister E P Jayarajan wouldattend the special session, it said.

Organised by the Kerala State Planning Board, Nobellaureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and WHO Chief Scientist,Soumya Swaminathan would be opening speakers of the meet onFebruary 1, followed by two days of brainstorming onconsolidating the core strengths of Kerala and adopting thebest models for a bright future.

The state would showcase a broad range of its robust andresilient industry before business leaders and stakeholders atthe special session on industry, besides highlighting theenhanced Ease of Doing business backed by a string of policyinterventions, it said.

The session would also explore the governmentinterventions to modernize the critical sectors of economy bychanneling constructive suggestions emerging during theconclave.

”A defining feature of this conference is that it looksahead to the views of industry veterans on laying down theroad map for the state,”saidPlanning Board Vice Chairperson,Dr V K Ramachandran.

The suggestions and consensus emerging from thedeliberations could become vital inputs in strengthening ourpolicy initiatives and addressing the gaps,” he said.

Venu V IAS, Member Secretary of Kerala State PlanningBoard saidKerala was keen to follow a development model ofexpediting economic growth without jettisoning its storiedsocial security and welfare commitments.

”It is important to note that the participating industryleaders are known for their larger concerns for the lessprivileged sections of the society.

This will make their views all the more significant inour context,” he said.

In another session on industrial possibilities onFebruary 2, Myungjae Moon, Director of Institute for FutureGovernment Studies, Yonsei University, would speak on SouthKorean experience in promoting industrial development and theeconomic growth possibilities for Kerala in the emergingglobal order.

The session would see presentations by Rizwan Soomar, MDand CEO of DP World-Port and Logistics, V Ramgopal Rao,Director of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, DaisyChittilapilly, MD, Digital Transformation, CISCO and TonyThomas, former CIO, Nissan Motor, the statement added.