Industries in Kerala

Industry and infrastructure has been making rapid strides in Kerala. Industrial boom in Kerala has spelt plethora of employment opportunities with its cottage industries alone, proving to be the source of sustenance for over a million people. It is strategically located which makes it easily accessible by aerial routes and water ways. There are 1.8 lakh small scale industrial outfits and about five hundred and eleven medium sized and large scale industries in Kerala.

The economy of Kerala reaped huge benefits from its blossoming industrial sector. The following facts and figure offers a glimpse.

• State Income at current price in 1998-99 - Rs. 56,563 crores
• State Income at Constant price in 1998-99- Rs. 31,240 crores
• Growth Rate- 5.6 %
• Percapita Income at current prices in 1998-99- RS. 17,756
• Percapita Income at constant prices in 1998-99-RS. 9,807
• The total yield of important trade goods during 1998-99 :
• Rubber- 559.10 tonnes
• Tea- 68.37 tonnes
• Coffee- 61.15 tonnes
• Pepper- 64.34 tonnes
• Rice- 7.27 tonnes
• Coconut- 6672 million
• Arecanut- 18359 million
• Kerala export turnover is also of mammoth proportions. Here's a sneak peek of the export scenario.
• The port of Kochi exported goods worth 24.3 lakh M.T in 1998-99
• The amount of export to foreign countries was worth RS 5673.14 crore in 1998-99

These figures will give you an idea of the export graph of very important trade goods.

Quantity: 101466

Value: 623.09 crores

Cashew Kernels

Quantity: 75026

Value: 744.95 crores

Marine products

Quantity: 70641

Value: 816.55 crores

Coir products

Quantity: 52637

Value: 297.67 crores

Pepper

Quantity: 34864

Value: 311.67 crores

Coffee

Quantity: 127467

Value: 747.85 crores

Curry Powder

Quantity: 5210

Value: 35.97 crores

Sumptuous sea fare dished out by restaurants of Kerala, scores brownie points with tourists visiting the backwaters. It comes as no surprise then that seafood industry is one of the top revenue earners for Kerala. It is famed for supplying about 2,50,000 tons of squid, tuna, shrimps, lobster, cuttlefish and sardines, accounting for about half of the country's total output.

Flowing silks, yards of beautiful fabrics are stunning eye-catchers that tourists stack their bags with. They are perhaps the most cherished artifact from God's Own Country. The textile industry of Kerala, elephantine in proportions, sends the cash registers ringing. Kanjikode, the International Apparel Park located in Trivandrum, the Industrial Export Park based in Cochin and Kanjikode are important textile industry destinations.

A variety of spices are also the mainstay of the booming Kerala industrial sphere. Ginger, chillies, cardamom, turmeric, pepper estates dot this magnificent state. Ninety six percent of India's pepper is credited to this glorious state. Pepper plantation occupies an astounding one hundred and fifty eight thousand hectares. An assortment of spices boasts of medicinal properties and are also used as herbal healing products, besides enhancing the taste of lip smacking delectable fares. India is one of the biggest exporter of spices in the world.

The electronics sector is an up and coming industry, registering itself as a top revenue earner. The Electronics Technology Park of Trivandrum registers high footfalls.

Kerala is also a rich repository of several minerals and fine grained soil. Sillimanite, Ilmenite, Monazite abounds in this state. Fire clay, Silica, Ball clay and China clay, granite and graphite also occurs in large quantities in different parts of Kerala, paving the path for a flourishing industry.

Kerala's diverse and exotic flora and fauna is an ideal breeding ground for the biotechnology industry. The proposed biotechnology hub will facilitate more exploration and further advancement. Kerala is also home to a large number of light engineering products manufacturing outlets.

Petroleum and natural gas products is also an important industry of Kerala. The Cochin Refineries Limited, producing seven million tonnes of petroleum and natural gas, is a jewel in the crown of Kerala.

The rubber industry occupies about 3.84 lakh hectares and boasts of a turnover of 3.70 lakh tonnes that amounts to about ninety percent of the country's total rubber production.

Picturesque locales, breathtaking scenic delights, treasure trove of architecture, Kashmir of the South - tourists flock to Kerala to savor wondrous creations. The burgeoning tourist industry is a huge money spinner for the country.

The information and technology sector, fuelled by the technology hub and the Software Training and Development Centre situated in Trivandrum, is all geared up to become a successful revenue generator.

The infrastructure of a state determines its prosperity index. A sound infrastructure depends on the smooth functioning of health sector, education, transport, power supply, banking facilities, telecom sector. Kerala's infrastructure reflects untiring efforts on the part of the Government to showcase the state as a lucrative business hub.

Kerala boasts of sixteen well equipped harbors, the port of Kochi being the largest. It is well connected by road routes running through the length and breadth of the state, stretching up to a distance of 110,500 kilometers.1200 kilometers, as recorded in 1998-99, of railway tracks forms one of the major transport options for many. Kerala houses one international airport, located in Thiruvananthapuram along with a couple of domestic airports at Kochi and Kozhikode.

Here are some facts and figure regarding the telecom infrastructure:

• There are 35 telephone connections per square kilometer as recorded in 1998- 99
• Each exchange is equipped with STD/ISD facilities
• Ernakulam boasts of housing most number of exchanges, while Wayanad has the least number of them.
• Panchayats are connected by a computers and equipped with internet
• There are 5 private Internet Service Providers in Kerala.
• There are 5,056 post offices in Kerala, that amounts to a single post office catering to the requirements of 6480 people within the radar of eight kilometers.
• The state houses 51 principal post offices, 4000 subsidiary post offices, 90 more offices that caters to several postal enquiries and 7 speed post outlets.
• The Kerala State Industrial Developmental Corporation and the Kerala Financial Corporation are two of principal organizations that dishes out pecuniary assistance.

Brahmapuram Diesel Power Project, the Kozhikode Diesel Power Project in Nallalam fuels Kerala's power supply.

Besides these, it houses seventeen hydroelectric outfits units one thermal power outfit. They generate 2311 megawatt of power.

The highest percentage literacy has been recorded in Kerala. This serves as an indication of the strong educational infrastructure in the state. Education in schools are mandatory are does not require the payment of fees. It houses seven universities and one hundred and eighty six colleges. The women folk of Kerala are empowered by education and are brilliant examples for the rest of the country.

The health sector is bolstered by the efficient functioning of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, governed by the state Ministry for Health.

Kerala's industry and infrastructure is ready to usher bright prospects for the state.