By TCN News,
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government will extend full support and cooperation to the interest-free banking system so that it may be used for the development of the state, said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The state will try to attain the central government’s approval for it. He was inaugurating the national seminar ‘Interest-free Institutional Mechanism for Banking, Finance and Insurance’ held in Thiruvananthapuram today.
The CM said that Islamic banking was not a dangerous suggestion. The government would clarify doubts and go forward. The services of the ‘Al Baraka Financial Services’ (the interest-free institution formed during the tenure of the last LDF government aiming at attracting investments from expatriates) would be utilized as one of the ways to increase investments. The government will go forward with the good moves taken by the last government and the Al Baraka was one such move. Some feel discomfort with the term ‘Islamic banking’, but instead of just a name we should see if it will be useful for the society. Large sums of money of expatriate Malayalis are in banks now. It has been a thought for quite a long time as to how to utilize this money creatively for development, he added.
Interest is a main problem that several projects face in the state, said Industries Minister PK Kunjalikkutty, while delivering the presidential address. The arrival of interest-free investment can help find capital for such projects. Kerala has showed several new models to the country and interest-free investment can be yet another one. The ‘Al Baraka’ is a good venture. A system based on interest does not consider the gain and loss in the venture. But in interest-free system, both gain and loss will be shared. While Europe is successfully utilizing Islamic banking, opinion has come in the higher levels itself that India too should utilize this prospect, he added.
Former Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac, former member of Planning Board CP John, Additional Chief Secretary T Balakrishnan (IAS), Al Baraka Financial Services chairman
Dr P Muhammedali, Alternative Investments and Credits Limited director T Arifali, chief of Sign Human Resources Centre Munawarali Shihab Thangal, and Rabitha Educational Committee regional coordinator Dr Husain Madavoor also spoke.
The seminar was organised as a joint venture of the Department of Islamic Studies in the University of Kerala, the Thiruvananthapuram Chamber of Commerce, the Indian Centre for Islamic Finance, the Indian Association for Islamic Economics, the Al Barakah Financial Services Limited, the Sequra Investment and Management India Private Ltd, the Ecotech Builders and the Alternative Investments and Credits Ltd.
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