Kerala Investor Summit Attracts Rs 1.53 Lakh Crore: 'United Kerala' Message

Kochi, Feb 22 (PTI) The investor summit, which has attracted expressions of interest for investments worth Rs 1.53 lakh crore, sends out the message of a 'united Kerala" irrespective of political and ideological differences, state Industries Minister P Rajeeve said on Saturday.

The two-day Invest Kerala Global Summit (IKGS) saw the participation of over 5,000 delegates. State's Opposition leaders as well as Union ministers who attended the event also pitched the state as an investment destination.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF)-led Kerala government has differences with the BJP-ruled Centre and the Opposition parties in the state are at loggerheads on certain issues.

In an interview with PTI soon after the conclusion of the summit, Rajeeve said the Opposition leaders and Union ministers supported the summit. "That is a great achievement. This is not the old Kerala. This is a new Kerala. Kerala is ready to attract investments and all presumptions are old stories".

Highlighting that the summit sends out the message of a "united Kerala", the minister said the state is united to attract investments irrespective of political, and ideological differences..

"Nobody can avoid this situation. Either you are with Kerala or against Kerala, that is the question and then all of us come together for the advancement of the state," Rajeeve said.

Earlier, he had said the summit is not an event management and that focus is only on realistic investment proposals.

The summit has Expressions of Interest (EoIs) worth around Rs 1.53 lakh crore from 374 companies and the government has also set up a dashboard to follow up and fast-track the proposals. The proposed investments include Rs 30,000 crore by Adani Group, Rs 5,000 crore each by Sharaf Group and Lulu Group, Rs 2,000 crore by Krishna Institute of Medical Science and Rs 2,500 crore by Four EF Constructions.