Kerala Minister: Technology Can Reduce Working Hours

New Delhi, Mar 2 (PTI) Working hours can be reduced by utilising technology in the right manner, Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve has said and emphasised that productivity is higher in the state.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, in power continuously for nearly nine years, is making all-out efforts to showcase Kerala as an investment destination, and the remarks from the minister also came at a time when the debate is continuing over working hours for staff.

Against the backdrop of increasing adoption of technological innovations, including Artificial Intelligence, Rajeeve acknowledged that nobody could predict what will happen in the future but stressed that the trend is not to increase working hours but to reduce the working hours.

"Working less, you will get more, that is the utilisation of technology. We are not touching the existing laws in Kerala," the senior Left leader told PTI in a recent interview in Kochi.

At the recently concluded Investor Kerala Global Summit (IKGS) in Kochi, the state attracted expressions of interest for investments worth around Rs 1.53 lakh crore from various companies, and the overall message from the government was that the procedures have been simplified and there will be no red tape.

"The potential of Kerala is that during the eight hours, you should get the best productivity. That is the advantage of Kerala. IBM had told me that they would recruit only 100 people within a year, but they could recruit more than 1,500. The reason is that these people developed two successful tools in one year. One for Facebook and one for Delta Airlines," Rajeeve said.

Highlighting the advantages of Kerala, which is known for its natural beauty, the minister said the state has good air and water quality.

"By utilising the technology in the right manner, we can reduce man hours. The strength of Kerala is -- whether it is 6, 7, or 8 (working) hours -- productivity is higher than other parts of the world," he said.

Among industry leaders, Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy had pitched for a 70-hour work week, while Larsen and Toubro Chairman SN Subrahmanyan called for a 90-hour work week.

Meanwhile, about Kerala, Rajeeve said there is a deep-rooted presumption that the state is not suitable for industry and is the land of strikes, militant trade unionism and red tape.

"Actually, the facts are far away from this propaganda. Kerala contributes 24 per cent of the turnover of the medical devices industry in the country," he noted.

Further, the minister said the motto of the state's industrial policy is very specific -- "nature, people and industry".

In response to a query on Left ideologies and economic liberalisation principles, Rajeeve said all are working in a system, and efforts are for an inclusive industrialisation that focuses on small industries, knowledge industries and technology industries.

"We are working in a system...We are working in the system, and we are trying to implement an alternative within the system, not an alternative to the system," he said, adding that while there is some discontent with the Union government on various issues, the state government is trying its best to get the support from the Centre.

The LDF and the BJP-led Centre have differences on various issues, including on borrowing limits.