Kochi, Aug 3 (UNI) The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) today said it will launch initiatives to promote the industrialisation of north Kerala, which is lagging behind the central and southern parts of the state in development.

Addressing a press conference here, CII, Southern Region, Chairman Pradipta K Mohapatra and Kerala Council Chairman Umang Patodia said a cluster development approach could be adopted to promote industries such as handlooms and food processing in the northern districts.

Mr Mohapatra said the CII would also work very closely with the Kerala Government to upgrade ITIs in the state. Already, 13 ITIs had been identified for this purpose. This was being done as part of the new initiatives announced by union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, allocating Rs 750 crore to upgrade 300 ITIs across the country.

The ITIs, built in the 1950s and 1960s, were now out of tune with the demands of the industries and the CII would like to facilitate changes in the curriculum to make the youth more employable, he said.

The CII would also train SC/ST youth in Kerala on vocational skills, Mr Mohapatra added.

Mr Mohapatra said he would be meeting Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, State Planning Board Vice-Chairman Prabhat Pattnaik, Chief Secretary Lizzie Jacob and other senior government officials tomorrow to discuss the CII's 'work plan' for Kerala.

UNI