Kerala reports first coronavirus death of 69-year old man from Ernakulum

Kerala on Saturday reported the death of a 69-year-old Covid-19 patient from Eranakulam. This is the first death reported in the state, after the presence of the pandemic was reported for the first time in the state in January-end.

The patient, who returned from Dubai, was admitted to Eranakulam's Covid treatment centre with symptoms of pneumonia on March 22. The medical board, which confirmed the death, said that the person was suffering from severe heart disease and high blood pressure and had earlier undergone by-pass surgery. He was on ventillator and was reported dead on Saturday morning. The mortal remains have been handed over to the victim's relatives, the centre added.

Kerala reported 39 new coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the total number of people under treatment in the state to 164. This is the highest number of positive cases reported in the state on a single day so far. Of the 39 confirmed today, 34 are from Kasaragod district. In all 110,299 are under observation, of which 616 are in hospitals. Nearly 112 patients were admitted to hospitals on Friday.

The state government has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention after the Karnataka government blocked the border roads by piling up soil, which is against the government's advice, said Pinarayi Vijayan. The Thalassery-Coorg State Highway-30 has been blocked by the Karnataka government, and this route is a lifeline for flow of essential commodities to Kerala, he said.

"Given the situation of national lockdown, this will add much more hardship to the people. You will naturally agree with me that no action impeding the movement of essential commodities should be initiated at this moment of crisis," he added.

Kerala ranks among India's top 5 start-up incubation hubs: CREDAI-ANAROCK

With a conducive environment for entrepreneurs to grow and flourish, the start-up ecosystem in Kerala is catching up with neighbouring Karnataka. Primarily known for tourism, the state currently hosts more than 2,200 start-ups, with over 36 per cent of these in Kochi alone.

The CREDAI-ANAROCK report 'Kerala - Unravelling the Growth Trajectory' unveiled at the CREDAI Kerala Statecon - 2020 held in Kochi today, confirms that the state now ranks among India's top 5 start-up incubation hubs along with Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, and Rajasthan.

The report finds that in terms of overall start-up funding in Kerala, both 2018 and 2019 saw significant growth over the previous years.

"In just the first nine months of 2019, the state received approx. USD 44 million in funding spread across 13 deals -- a notable increase of 18 per cent over 2018. Among the top investors were Unicorn India Ventures, India Angel Network Fund, Malabar Angels, Sea Fund, Jose Pattara, and Flat6Labs Bahrain", said Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Property Consultants.

Relatively low cost of operations, skilled manpower availability, modern technology use and highly supportive government policies such as Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM) have been key factors driving Kerala's start-up revolution.

"Kerala is one of the most literate and skilled states in India. Schools, colleges, start-up incubators, and government institutes have been very efficiently linked into an ecosystem that provides ample opportunities for the growth of entrepreneurship and innovation", said Krishna Kumar - Chairman, CREDAI Kerala.

Other notable features of Kerala's start-up ecosystem:

* In early 2019, the government initiated an integrated start-up complex in Kochi spread over 1.8 lakh sq ft. Three similar projects are in the pipeline, increasing the capacity to over 5 lakh sq ft.

* Nearly 59 per cent of Kerala's start-ups have their headquarters in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

* Home to IIM and National Institute of Technology, Kozhikode has emerged as a preferred start-up destination in recent years. The city hosted nearly 10 per cent of the state's start-ups in 2019, compared to 6 per cent a year earlier.

Kerala real estate sector's untapped potential

The report further highlights the untapped potential within Kerala's real estate sector. Kochi is the epicentre for most real estate developments, accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the overall market activity. Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur are the next two big real estate destinations in the state.

To the backdrop of Kerala's burgeoning IT sector and rapidly improving physical infrastructure, its real estate sector will potentially attract major NRI investments in the future. Interestingly, nearly 16.5 million sq ft of IT parks are already operational in Kerala's key cities, collectively host over 800 companies - and another 10 million sq ft are being developed in the state.

The massive NRI investments into Kerala, which contribute significantly to its economy, can be optimally utilized for further real estate developments. Special schemes for NRIs and marketing campaigns in other countries can also help raise NRI investments in the sector.

Its environmental and climatic conditions make Kerala a very favourable destination for senior living, thus providing an opportunity for the development of this exciting alternate asset class. Similarly, the high saturation of educational institutions and Study in India program provides massive opportunities for student housing in Kerala.

Other report highlights:

* Well-established tourism real estate is attracting multiple branded hotel chains into the state. Kerala is one of the major contributors to tourism in India. The total revenue from foreign and Indian tourists (estimated at Rs 33,400 crore nationally) accounts for nearly 7 per cent of the state's GSDP.

* The education sector continued to attract the highest budgetary allocation of Rs 20,862 crore in FY20-21.

* RERA's recent implementation in the state prepares the ground for increased transparency in Kerala's real estate sector. That said RERA deployment needs to increase and achieve wider market coverage in the state.

* NRI remittances are the backbone of Kerala's economy. While India retained its top position worldwide in inward remittances (of approx. USD 82 billion, or 2.8 per cent of India's 2019 GDP), Kerala accounted for nearly 19 per cent of the total - the highest in the country.

* The Life Sciences Park at Thiruvananthapuram will boost one of Kerala's USPs - healthcare - with an integrated approach to life science research for agriculture, food and nutrition, human health, biotechnology and medical technology.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.

Sabarimala issue set to decide political fortunes in Kerala yet again

As the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala gears up for yet another annual pilgrim season next month, major political parties in Kerala are keeping their fingers crossed to know whether the women's entry issue will have any impact on the October 21 bypolls to five assembly constituencies.

The bypolls to be held in Vattiyoorkkavu, Konni, Ernakulam, Aroor and Manjeswaram are seen as a litmus test for the CPI(M)-led ruling LDF and the opposition Congress headed UDF and BJP-NDA ahead of the 2021 assembly elections.

LDF is going all out to ensure that the Sabarimala issue is not discussed in the ongoing campaigns as they had drawn flak from several quarters over the women's entry issue for its alleged hastiness in implementing the Supreme Court order, permitting women of all age groups into the hill shrine.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, post-Sabarimala agitation, the Left front had suffered a massive drubbing, losing 19 out of the total of 20 seats.

The defeat of the Left and the sweep of the opposition Congress-UDF was generally seen as the impact of the Sabarimala issue.

During the ongoing campaign, the ruling front is trying its best to woo voters by focussing on development issues and listing out the achievements of the Pinarayi Vijayan led government.

Unlike the Lok Sabha polls, even senior Left leaders, including Vijayan, are steering clear of any controversial statements or provocative remarks on Sabarimala in campaigns.

Senior CPI(M) leader and Industries Minister E P Jayarajan had even said the Sabarimala issue would be in LDF's favour in the bypolls and Lord Ayyappa was helping them.

The recent victory of LDF candidate Mani C Kappan in Pala assembly segment, a traditional UDF bastion, had reinfused confidence among the Left cadres and leadership.

At the same time,opposition UDF and BJP-NDA are going all out to revive memories of the violent street battles against the entry of menstruating women during the last pilgrim season and that of two young women with the support of police earlier this year.

They try to raise the issue in all five constituencies, especially in Konni in Pathanamthitta district where the Sabarimala temple is located and at Manjeswaram, where a three-cornered fight is expected between LDF, UDF and NDA.

UDF is confident that Hindu voters, especially devotees and women, who were "hurt" due to the adamant stand taken by the LDF government in the Sabarimala issue, would favour them.

The BJP-NDA, however, is facing flak for not fulfilling its promise of bringing out a legislation by the Centre for protecting the customs and traditions of Sabrimala.

The Nair Service Society (NSS), an influential outfit of the forward Nair community, had recently called on its members to maintain the "right distance" in the bypolls, which is seen as a deviation from its long-held stand of maintaining "equi-distance" from all political parties and fronts.

In his Vijayadashami message, its general secretary G Sukumaran Nair had said it had become necessary to adopt a "right distance" in the upcoming bypolls to protect democracy, secularism, social justice, customs and traditions.

He had also criticised the LDF and BJP over the issue, which is being seen by UDF as a favourable move for them.

Kerala had witnessed high drama during the nearly three month long annual pilgrim season last year with around a dozen women in the 10-50 age group being prevented from entering the Sabarimala temple by protesting devotees after the doors were opened for all women following the apex court verdict.

The hill shrine will open for the annual festival this year on November 16.

Coastal Kerala on alert after report says IS boat set sail from Lanka

Authorities in coastal areas of Kerala have been put on high alert after an intelligence report said 15 Islamic State terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka for the Lakshadweep islands on boats, police sources said.

Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels.

The sources said, though, such alerts are "usual practice", this time they have a specific information about the number of terrorists.

The coastal police department said it has been on alert since May 23 after the intelligence input came from Sri Lanka.

"We have been on alert since the Sri Lankan attack. We have alerted fishing vessel owners and others venturing into the sea to be cautious," a coastal police department official told PTI.

After the serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, Kerala was put on alert, especially after NIA investigations revealed that IS operatives had planned attacks in the state.

Intelligence agencies believe that a considerable number of Keralities still have ties to the IS.

Sri Lanka witnessed a deadly terror attack on April 21 when eight blasts rocked the island-nation, killing over 250 people.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack.