By IANS
New Delhi : Suggesting that Kerala focus on IT, public sector units and other job-creating sectors, the Planning Commission Wednesday approved a Rs.77-billion annual plan for the state for 2008-09, showing an increase of Rs.7.5 billion over the current fiscal.
“The state will be giving emphasis to IT, tourism and industrial sectors while giving special importance to the agriculture sector during the financial year,” Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan told reporters after the discussions with the Planning Commission officials here.
In the plan approved by the Planning Commission, the allocation for the industrial sector has been increased by more than 100 percent. “There is also an eight percent increase in the allocation for the agriculture and allied activities,” the chief minister said.
An additional central allocation of Rs.1 billion was also approved.
Kerala was the first state to get the plan for 2008-09 approved by the plan panel.
“The state gives special care to the small scale sector, which is under threat from the globalisation, while trying to retain the state’s leading position in the education, health and social sectors,” Achuthanandan said.
The plan allocation for the local self government institutions has been increased from Rs.17.90 billion to Rs.18.77 billion and there is a 37 percent increase in the health sector allocation.
The chief minister also said the state would take initiative in starting a government-owned land bank to restrict the thriving private land speculators, to prevent forcible or fraudulent dispossession of land from people and to encourage genuine enterprise to come to the state for employment generating investment.