Kerala can leapfrog into a new world by 2030 if it transforms economy beyond conventional bounds:Chidambaram

Kochi: Kerala is one among the few handful states in India which can leapfrog into a new world by 2030 if it transforms its economy beyond the conventional bounds, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said.

The senior Congress leader said the state should transform to a knowledge-based economy by embracing Information and Communications Technology, Artificial Intelligence of Robotics and a highly networked world.

"These are the concepts which Malayalees can easily absorb because of their high literacy," Chidambaram said, inaugurating a virtual summit on development of Kerala, titled Pratheeksha 2030, organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies (RGIDS).

Emphasising the need for building a knowledge-based economy, he said the school education system in Kerala must jump into the syllabus and curriculum that are adopted today in European countries, in Singapore and in China.

"That is the curriculum you should adopt," he said.

The Congress leader urged the people and policymakers in the state to pay sufficient attention for "re-imagining Kerala which becomes an advanced state within India."

He said only a handful states in India can imagine, leapfrogging from today into a new world which is based on an advanced knowledge-based economy, advanced ICT- enabled economy and an advanced economy.

"China, for example, in the last 5 to 10 years has leapfrogged into that new world.Most European countries are already in that new world.

You have the strength, you have the ability, you have the capacity to leapfrog into a world that embraces a knowledge-based economy by 2030," Chidambaram said at the virtual programme attended by Keralites based in UAE on October 2.

Besides Kerala, other states which can aspire to do that include Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and perhaps one or two other states, Chidambaram said.

He said Kerala must continue to invest in agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, traditional industries and tourism.

"But you should not stop there.You have to imagine a new Kerala beyond the conventional bounds," Chidambaram added.