Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry

PRESS RELEASE (Issued by Shri Jasbir Singh Chawla, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin-2) The waterways of Kerala can play a major role in the development of economy of our State as they link remote villages and islands with main lands. They also provide a cheap and economical mode of transport. Cochin, being the commercial capital of the state is the central point of economic activity. But the fact remains that the waterways of Cochin are not that much developed and there is a lot of scope for improvement. Currently it takes over an hour to travel between Ernakulam and Fort Cochin/Mattancherry through congested roads and narrow bridges. Travel by boats normally take

PRESS RELEASE (Issued by Shri Jasbir Singh Chawla, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin-2) The recent decision by the Central Government not to give environmental clearance to project proposals in critically polluted industrial clusters is of concern to Kerala since Greater Cochin is one among them. Stoppage of clearance to projects proposals for the next 8 months will slow down the pace of industrialisation and with its adverse impact on commercial activities and employment vis-à-vis the State’s economy. It is now worth mentioning our earlier suggestion that the State Government should give serious consideration for setting up industrial parks or estates in the semi-

PRESS RELEASE (Immediate reaction of Shri Jasbir Singh Chawla, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin-2, to the Kerala Budget for 2010-2011) The Budget contains several proposals for strengthening and widening various welfare schemes. The proposed measures to promote and encourage energy conservation, environment protection and ecological balancing are welcome features. The Finance Minister has given due consideration to the ‘well known’ traffic bottlenecks in the Port City of Cochin with the allotment of 40 new boats for Cochin and projects like rapid rail corridor, seaport-airport road, vytilla mobility hub, inland waterways, renovation of feeder canals etc.

At the 112th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry held on 30th September 2009, Shri Jasbir Singh Chawla and Shri P Prathapachandran were elected President and Vice-President of the Chamber for the year 2009-2010.

PRESS RELEASE (Immediate reaction of Shri Jasbir Singh Chawla, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin, to the Railway Budget for 2010-2011) The Union Railway Minister has made an earnest attempt to present the Budget this year with a broader outlook without hiking passenger fares and freight rates. The proposal for increased private sector participation in areas like manufacture, infra-structure etc. would indeed help to increase efficiency and timely completion of such projects. The announcement that necessary sanction for Kanjikode coach factory would be given this year itself as well as the proposals to start a water bottling plant at Thiruvananthapuram and

PRESS RELEASE The Department of Economics of the Cochin College in association with the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Cochin had organised a State Level Seminar on “India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: Opportunities and Challenges” on 10th February 2010 at the Seminar Hall of the College. Presiding over the Inaugural Session of the Seminar Shri T Vidyasager, Manager of the College, said it would not be prudent for us to keep away from the framework of the present world economic order and global trade. We must strive hard to harness the tremendous possibilities brought about by the India-ASEAN FTA rather than nursing and nurturing misconceptions. Former IC