Back in 2022, during its state conference in Ernakulam, the CPI(M) adopted a policy document titled Navakeralathulla Party Kazhchappadu (The Party Viewpoint for New Kerala), advocating for welcoming capital investments of all kinds.
However, at the ongoing state conference in Kollam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is proposing an amendment that incorporates an ideological safeguard. In his new policy document, Navakeralathe Nayikan Puthuvazhikal (New Ways to Direct New Kerala), Vijayan introduces a key revision: “While we accept capital investments, we must also assert that investments contradicting our ideological stance cannot be accommodated.”
Notably, it was in the past week that the Vijayan government tabled the Kerala State Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Bill, 2025, aimed at facilitating the establishment of private universities in Kerala. Although the CPI(M) has traditionally opposed private and foreign universities, recent years have seen a shift in its ideological stance.
If Vijayan’s clause is accepted, it could set a precedent where ideological adjustments become a prerequisite for approving capital investments, especially in high-tech sectors where mega multinational corporations, especially those from the West, are key players.
Vijayan’s policy document also outlines an ambitious vision for Kerala’s startup ecosystem, aiming to create a globally recognised hub. It sets specific targets: the establishment of 15,000 startups and the creation of 100,000 new jobs by 2026.
Meanwhile, the document reaffirms the party’s commitment to attracting maximum investment from the Malayali diaspora worldwide. It also criticises the Union government’s restrictions on the Kerala government’s resource mobilisation efforts, particularly its curbs on off-budget borrowing through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The policy document hails KIIFB as part of an alternative economic strategy developed by the CPI(M)-led government.
“The Kerala government will continue to challenge in the Supreme Court the Union government’s move to include KIIFB borrowings within borrowing limit constraints,” Vijayan asserts in the document.
