Kerala Cabinet charts long-term development roadmap at IIMK workshop

Kerala's Cabinet is participating in a two-day IIM Kozhikode workshop focused on the state's long-term development. Discussions cover artificial intelligence, ageing, climate resilience, healthcare, employment, migration, fiscal pressures and ways to build a knowledge-driven, technology-enabled economy

Kozhikode (Keralam): Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and his Cabinet colleagues on Friday set aside the routine demands of governance to participate in a two-day strategic leadership workshop at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK), aimed at redefining the state’s long-term development priorities.

Titled ‘Reimagining Keralam’, the programme seeks to provide a platform for collective reflection and policy brainstorming on challenges and opportunities likely to shape the state over the next decade. The workshop, which concludes on Saturday, began at the institute’s Management Development Centre, with the Chief Minister inaugurating the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp.

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Besides Cabinet ministers, the state’s Chief Secretary, Secretary to the Chief Minister, Officer on Special Duty and State Protocol Officer are also participating in the exercise.

The exercise is deliberately different from a conventional training programme. Instead of focusing on the immediate demands of administration, the sessions bring policymakers face to face with academics and international experts to examine long-term challenges and explore how policy decisions can translate into lasting changes in people’s lives.

The first day’s discussions centre on some of the biggest shifts confronting Kerala: artificial intelligence, an ageing population, climate change, public health, employment and the changing nature of the economy.

One of the key areas under discussion is the possibility of positioning Kerala as a health and wellness hub, while the government will also explore the idea of a dedicated ‘Silver Economy Mission’ to respond to the economic and social consequences of a rapidly ageing population.

Climate resilience and community-based disaster management are other major themes. Discussions will also cover employment, entrepreneurship, skill development, higher education, the financial and economic sectors, migration and expatriate remittances, and the global branding of Keralam.

IIMK Director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee opened the programme with a session on “Transformational Leadership in the Age of AI: Engaging People with Purpose and Impact.”

Dr Devi Shetty, founder of Narayana Health, is scheduled to participate in a session on the future of public health. Prof. Rajib Shaw of Keio University, Japan, and Dr Sanchayan Banerjee, Associate Professor at King’s College London, are among the other international experts taking part.

The discussions come at a time when Kerala faces a difficult combination of opportunities and pressures.

While the state seeks to build a knowledge-driven and technology-enabled economy, it must simultaneously deal with an ageing population, climate-related risks, changing migration patterns and remittances, and mounting fiscal pressures.

The workshop is therefore intended to look beyond individual schemes and immediate policy decisions and examine the larger question of what kind of Kerala should emerge in the years ahead. Global experiences and evidence-based approaches are expected to be used to identify possible policy interventions.

For four members of the present Cabinet, the exercise also carries a sense of déjà vu. P.K. Kunhalikutty, Shibhu Baby John, Anoop Jacob and A.P. Anilkumar are returning to IIMK after 15 years.

All four had participated in a similar leadership and management programme organised by the institute in 2011 for the Cabinet headed by then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

The ‘Reimagining Keralam’ exercise is expected to culminate in ideas and policy directions that can help the government respond to structural changes rather than merely immediate administrative challenges.

More importantly, it provides the Cabinet and the senior bureaucracy with an opportunity to develop a shared long-term perspective on Kerala’s next phase of development.