Congress leader and former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday said Kerala’s economic heft was dismal and did not match its admirable quality of life index.
Inaugurating the Hope 2030 Development Summit organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies (RGIDS), Mr Chidambaram said Kerala should emulate Singapore and Europe in economic development if it wanted to sustain its social sector achievements.
Kerala’s high literacy rate, life expectancy, low informant mortality, and robust health and education sector should have propelled its growth. However, the State seemed to have fallen short of expectations.
Kerala’s growth rate was a dismal 6.3%. It was much less than the national average. The State had the potential to emerge as an economic powerhouse.
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy also spoke.
