KSIDC turns 62, plays a key role in turning Kerala into an ideal investment destination
Trivandrum / July 22, 2023
Thiruvananthapuram, July22: A one-stop place for any investment in the state, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has turned 62, playing a crucial role in transforming the state into a thriving investment destination over the last six decades.
The state’s premier industrial promotion agency, KSIDC was formed on July 21, 1961, as a government company for development agency activities and in 1998, KSIDC was registered as a Non-Banking Financial Company, under the Reserve Bank of India regulations.
As part of its core task of promoting and facilitating industrial development, KSIDC has financed scores of large and medium scale industries including startups and women enterprises, besides creating the physical and social infrastructure for growth, by offering a comprehensive set of services.
As on last fiscal, KSIDC has facilitated cumulative sanction of loans worth Rs 4468.86 crore to 989 industrial units and has provided direct employment to 98522 persons through these units. Also, KSIDC has equity participation in 78 ventures, with value of holding at Rs 800 crore.
Since its inception, KSIDC has contributed immensely in formulating and implementing Kerala Government’s industrial policy from time to time, steadily raising the state’s ranking in Ease of Doing Business and attracting investment in multiple domains ranging from Information Technology to travel and hospitality sector.
A nodal agency for foreign and domestic investments, KSIDC facilitates clearances and processes various incentive schemes for starting new business ventures, provide financial support through term loans and equity, manage industrial growth centres and industrial parks, incentivizing investment and promoting investment by way of a slew of schemes like seed funds and scale-up assistance. KSIDC has facilitated development and functioning of industrial parks in the state.
As facilitator for credit, KSIDC provides loans upto Rs 60 crores to industrial ventures at an interest rate of 8 to 10 per cent. Also, under the Chief Minister’s Loan Scheme, ventures being set up in Kerala are provided loans from Rs 1 crore to 5 crores at 5 per cent interest.
KSIDC has played a major role in turning Kerala into a robust startup destination. The agency provides upto Rs 1 crore as scale-up loan to startups besides facilitating seed funds of upto Rs 25 lakhs for startups. Also, loans are given to women-led enterprises and tourism sector initiatives like the caravan tourism project.
“KSIDC has played a pioneering role in industrial promotion of Kerala in the last six decades, by building on the state’s core strengths like geographical advantages, advanced social development indices, and educated and skilled human resource. Its interventions also helped in projecting the true profile of the state as an ideal investment destination”, said Shri Paul Antony, Chairman, KSIDC.
In recent years, KSIDC has vastly improved the delivery of services by setting up technology-driven interfaces like K-SWIFT (Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent Clearance), an online platform for facilitating various clearances required for starting enterprises in the state. Kerala Centralised Inspection System (K-CIS) is a digital initiative that made the statutory inspections conducted by various government departments transparent and hassle-free.
“An interface between the government and industry, KSIDC has been able to considerably enhance the investor confidence on parking funds in the state”, said Shri S Harikishore, Managing Director, KSIDC.
Over the years, KSIDC has imparted a big thrust to the government’s efforts to transform Kerala into a major investment destination by steadily raising the state’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business index, he added.
