"Confederation of Indian Industry" (Southern Region) would accord top priority for skill development and facilitate employment opportunities for youth" said Mr S Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, CII – Southern Region while addressing a Press Conference here today.

Unveiling the plan of CII – Southern Region for 2010-11, Mr Gopalakrishnan said that CII – Southern Region adopted the theme – "Economic Wellbeing for All – An Agenda for Business" for the current year in line with CII National theme, ‘Business for Livelihood’.  "We have drawn up a comprehensive work plan this year with key focus on policy interventions which would aid in building sustainable enterprises, leading to job creation and improving the livelihood of the masses”, said Mr Gopalakrishnan.

Speaking about the industrial climate in Southern Region States, Mr Gopalakrishnan said that Southern Region has been in the forefront of India’s growth story and the last couple of years have been very rewarding. The real GDP in Southern Region increased to 9.2% per annum during 2005-09 which outpaced National real GDP growth of 8.5% during the same period. Southern States contribute close to 26% of India’s GDP; 21% of the country’s FDI flows and continues to mark our position as the ideal destination of choice for investments into new generation businesses.

Elaborating on the policy work, Mr Gopalakrishnan said that CII would moot for State-level Manufacturing Policies in Southern States to provide an impetus to the manufacturing sector.  The policy should simplify clearances and approval mechanisms; encourage green manufacturing; fast tracking infrastructure besides flexible labour rules without diluted social security net.  Every additional 1% growth in manufacturing creates 20-30 million additional jobs, he pointed out.

Outlining a five-point Agenda for Kerala, Mr P Ganesh, Chairman, CII Kerala said that the key focus would be Skills and Entrepreneurship Development, District Development with thrust on promotion of traditional industries, promotion of Agro based Industries, showcasing Kerala as a global hub for IT and Ayurveda besides proposing the need to create a Master Plan for cities in Kerala.

Mr Gopalakrishnan said that infrastructure development will be a key focus area of CII this year. CII would identify key infrastructure projects in Southern Region for fast track implementation. Some of the key issues CII would take up with Government include: policy framework for speedy implementation of infrastructure projects; need for technology upgradation for faster project completion and setting up of an effective dispute mechanism and provision for contingency funding.

In the area of power, CII would work with State Governments on reforms in the power sector with more focus on private sector participation especially on generation and distribution side. Power purchase from Captive Power Plants and the need to have a policy to benchmark tariff across country for uniformity are some of the key recommendations, he said.

Speaking on agriculture, Mr Gopalakrishnan said that virtual stagnation in agriculture should be addressed on priority. There is a need for better quality in the areas of technology and inputs; research and extension; supply chain management; market linkages; optimal and sustainable use of land besides right regulatory framework for prosperity of farmers. The aim is to achieve a 4% sustained growth in the agriculture sector, he said.

CII Southern Region would work towards enhancing the growth of the sector in this region. CII would facilitate pilot projects on Integrated Cold Chain in Southern States and also commission a study on ‘Impact of Climate Change in Agriculture Sector’.

In the area of Skills & Employability, CII supports various Government schemes across the five States, particularly in Vocational Education, which is the need of the hour.

CII is piloting E-Modules:  technology enabled modules in Vocational Education with the support and validation from Industry for large scale deployment of skill development. 20 e-modules on Vocational Skills would be developed and deployed through ITI’s & schools during this year. 25000 trained youth will be assessed for NCVT (National Council for Vocational Training) Certification this year under Modular Employable Scheme (MES).

Talking about the MSMEs, Mr Gopalakrishnan said that the MSMEs are the backbone of Indian Economy, which represents 95 % of the industrial units in the country. In CII Southern Region, over 75 percent of our Membership is in the Small & Medium sector.

Mr T T Ashok, Deputy Chairman, CII (Southern Region) said that there will be focus on developmental issues including sustainability, skills, education and other social initiatives during the year.

Mr Jose Dominic, Vice Chairman, CII Kerala State Council said CII will continue to work towards district development especially in Northern part of Kerala. He added that CII will work to initiate school and college excellence clusters for empowering youth, the leaders of tomorrow.