Punching holes in the popular narrative that Kerala stared at a massive exodus of job aspirants, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the State led the country in terms of appointments in the public sector.
Interacting with youth representatives here on Tuesday, he added the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has effectively countered “negative propaganda” on the State being unconducive for investments by clocking a strong industrial growth.
Mr. Vijayan led the second edition of the ‘face-to-face with CM’ programme organised in various parts of the State to collect feedback from different sections of the society in continuation to the LDF government’s Navakerala Sadas outreach programme.
The Chief Minister asserted the prevalence of youth going abroad in search of jobs is part of the State’s history of migration spanning over a century. He argued the phenomenon could not be viewed as brain drain, but a testimony of rich talent possessed by the youth of Kerala in various disciplines that has paved the way for a global spread of the State’s social capital.
Create opportunities
The government has been working to create opportunities for those who aspired to go overseas through initiatives such as the ‘Study Abroad’ scheme of the Kerala Academy for Skills Excellence (KASE) and the placement drives conducted by the State-run Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (ODEPEC).
At the same time, the government spared no efforts to create the best work environment in Kerala. The government’s multifarious initiatives have begun to bear fruit with the State emerging as the most preferred one to work in the country, according to the India Skills Report 2024.
Mr. Vijayan added Kerala has outpaced other States in providing employment in government services. At a time when the Union Public Service Commission has made only 16,434 appointments since 2018, as many as 2.30 lakh job advices were made through the Kerala Public Service Commission since June 2016. Besides, over 30,000 posts have been created during the period.
On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh, which has a population that is eight times larger and a threefold government staff strength has appointed only 37,632 job aspirants. Among the other States, Madhya Pradesh too has made only 4,500 appointments during the last five years, he claimed.
Witnessing growth
The industries sector has also been witnessing much growth with 1.39 lakh micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) launched during the last fiscal and another 91,000 more floating during the current financial year. The Mission 1000 (MSME Scale Up Mission) that is aimed at uplifting 1000 MSMEs into businesses having turnovers of ₹100 crore within four years has also taken off with 88 companies qualifying for the initiative thus far.
Youth Affairs Minister Saji Cherian presided over the programme. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G.R. Anil, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, V.K. Prasanth, MLA, actor and director Basil Joseph, actors Anaswara Rajan and Arjun Ashokan, lyricist B.K. Harinarayanan, playback singer Vidhu Prathap, athlete P.U. Chitra and badminton player Aparna Balan were among the others who participated.
