In his recent post on social media platform X, Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor shared a report by The Times of India and expressed concerns about Kerala’s declining startup ecosystem.
Referring to the findings, the former Minister remarked, “Dismayed to see that the Kerala start-up entrepreneurship story is not what’s been reported. The only silver lining is that at least the GoK’s claims point to the right intentions. We need more MSME start-ups — and not just on paper. Kerala must head this way!”
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Shashi Tharoor shares report
The news report read that over 42,000 MSMEs had closed in Kerala in the past nine years, leading to at least 1,03,764 job losses.
With the recent statement, Tharoor took a U-turn from his earlier stance of appreciating the Kerala government’s efforts in promoting industrial growth.
However, Kerala’s State Industries Minister P Rajeeve called the report “baseless” and said, “I provided a detailed reply in the Assembly on February 10.
Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal’s recent report in Parliament also stated that 1,700 MSMEs shut down in Kerala over the past four years.”
Rajeeve noted that while 30 percent of MSMEs in India closed within their first year, the rate in Kerala is only 15 percent.
The Kerala Minister claimed that the report was published with hidden motives since it did not mention the source of its numbers.
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