SOUTHERN STRENGTHS

PROMINENT VOICES FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS GATHERED AT THE INDIA TODAY CONCLAVE SOUTH 2023 TO DISCUSS EVERYTHING-FROM STATE FINANCES, FEDERALISM AND POLITICS TO TOURISM, INDIA'S SPACE GOALS, WILDLIFE AND CULTURE

- Suhani Singh

For a place with such lush green feathers in its crown, it was only a matter of time before the India Today Conclave South came to Kerala. In 2016, it was already the first state in India to achieve 100 per cent literacy. Last month, Kerala also became the first state to be fully e-governed. Its neighbours are also not far behind when it comes to socio-economic progress.

So, it was only fitting when India Today Group Editorial Director (Publishing), Raj Chengappa, in his opening remark at the conclave, lauded the region as the 'Incredible South' for standing out from the rest of the country on most major parameters. "I don't know why we use the term 'down south' to refer to this part of the country. It should really be up south," he said.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan echoed the sentiment in his keynote address. In keeping with its 2017 step that made access to the internet a basic right, the Left Democratic Front government recently launched the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) initiative to provide broadband connectivity to all houses and public offices.

On the economy front, P. Rajeev, the minister for industries, law and coir, spoke about the MSME boom-in 2022-23, the Year of Enterprises', nearly 140,000 enterprises were set up, of which 45,000 are run by women entrepreneurs and 17 by transgenders.