Thiruvananthapuram : Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wants KIIFB to be a major partner in the construction of New Kerala. The Chief Minister was inaugurating the silver jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), which plays a crucial role in the state’s infrastructure development, at the Nishagandhi Auditorium in Thiruvananthapuram . Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal presided over the function.
The renaissance movement was stronger in many other states than in Kerala. In those states, caste-based discrimination and other forms of discrimination continue to be strong. But in Kerala, it has changed. That is because the renaissance has been followed up properly here. If the renaissance made a great effort to end communal discrimination, then a great effort was also made to end economic discrimination and discrimination. United Kerala is being formed as a continuation of that. The Chief Minister said that the government that came in 1957 after the formation of United Kerala was a government that laid the foundation for the development that we see in Kerala today.
Sociologists and economists who later studied the specificities of Kerala all confirmed one thing. Kerala prospered in this way because of land reform measures. Along with this, expatriation is what marks the uniqueness of Kerala. The money sent home by expatriates does not just stay there , it circulates in the society. Here too, one thing should be noted , the change in expatriate life. Initially, people used to leave Kerala for hard manual labor. But times have changed. That change began in 1957 itself. That was the first time the government provided facilities for universal education. Schools came within walking distance.
The opening of more schools brought about a big change in the field of education. Along with this, there was growth in the field of higher education as well. Fees were made free for children from poor families to study. A child from a poor family had the facility to study wherever he wanted in Kerala. As a part of this, the life of exile also changed. Now, if we look at it, our people do not go where hard human labor is required. There are Malayalis in most countries of the world. Malayalis are working in strategic positions as scientists , academic experts , and technical experts. This change came about through the change in the field of education.
The country and the world noticed that our standard of living had changed without achieving large-scale economic growth. That is how the term Kerala model came into being. But after a certain point, Kerala faced stagnation. It became a state of no progress. As a result, we went backwards. That backwardness should not happen to a country like ours.
In 1999 , the then government had formed a system called KIIFB. But it was seen that its other follow-up activities were not carried out in a big way. KIIFB was revived in Kerala in 2016 with the idea that if we revive KIIFB, we will become an economic source and we will be able to find the necessary resources for our country to implement various development projects . The intention was to bring development in all sectors.
KIIFB’s projects are spread across all constituencies. The Chief Minister said that steps have been taken to focus on the development of our country without any discrimination.
Today, there has been a major change in the public education sector in Kerala. The schools in our state have been renovated. Along with this, the classrooms have been completely transformed into smart classes. This change has come about in Kerala with the provision of all kinds of facilities, thanks to the participation of KIIFB.
The Chief Minister said that major changes have also been made in the field of roads, bridges and other infrastructure. There has been a major change in the health sector. KIIFB has played a major role there too. Primary health centers are being converted into family health centers. Super specialty facilities are being provided from our taluk hospitals to medical college hospitals. If we take each of them into account, the role played by KIIFB is huge.
Kerala has been able to significantly reduce maternal mortality and infant mortality rates.
When the Covid pandemic shocked the world, even the world’s major nations bowed their heads in front of it. But even at the height of Covid, Covid could not overcome the health facilities we had prepared. Even then, our hospitals had empty beds , oxygen beds , ICU beds , and ventilators.
Now two of our universities have achieved A++ grade. If we take the 12 best universities in the country, three of them are ours. What kind of changes are taking place in our society? We have now been able to implement development in a way that future generations will not be able to blame us for. KIIFB played an important role in that. The Chief Minister said that KIIFB has been able to carry out that task well.
Finance Minister KN Balagopal, who presided over the ceremony, said that he believes that KIIFB’s activities can be taken forward to a point where it can implement many programs that will be useful for the new generation and for the development of every region in Kerala . The minister added that as KIIFB completes 25 years, may the activities of KIIFB show us the way to greater heights, having achieved great achievements.
The Chief Minister released the KIIFB souvenir (English and Malayalam) and the KIIFB Malayalam magazine. The Chief Minister launched the bot software that provides all the information about KIIFB and the metaverse exhibition ‘ KIIFBverse ‘ . Awards were also distributed to the best project implementation agencies , contractors, etc. at the event.
KIIFB Additional CEO Mini Antony welcomed the gathering. KIIFB CEO K.M. Abraham gave a presentation on the topic ‘ New Kerala Vision and KIIFB ‘ .
Ministers G. R. Anil , K. Rajan , J. Chinjurani , Chief Whip N. Jayaraj , Lokayukta Justice N. Anil Kumar , V. K. Prashant MLA , Chief Secretary A. Jayathilak , Finance Additional Chief Secretary K. R. Jyotilal and others attended the function .
