The UDF Government took over from the earlier LDF Government giving great expectations to the public. The Government has undertaken and is continuing to undertake efforts to live up to those expectations. But alas,  they managed to complete one year without much developmental activities. But that's no surprise as most Governments are not credited with any extraordinary activities during their first year in power. The Government has been successful in maintaining a certain level of public support mainly because of the clean image of the Chief Minister.

The lack of planning in the proper utilization of funds by the previous Governments had resulted in a revenue deficit. Thus, the present Government was forced to commence its activities with an empty treasury. And well, it was only after taking charge that whitepaper about the financial situation was presented. One of the steps taken by the Government to overcome the financial crisis was to take a loan of around 3000 crores from the Asian Development Bank. Needless to say this attracted a lot of criticisms.

Another notable change brought about by the Government was to open the professional education field to private sector. So far, the Government has been seen granting NOC (No Objection Certificates)  for most of the applications submitted by Private Managements for Engineering and Medical Colleges. The rejection rate has been notably low. The main motivation behind this move is the expected hike in revenue.

The Government presented the second budget in the context of unfavorable financial conditions. Despite the circumstances, to the relief of the general public, there was no significant price hike.

A controversial occurrence during this period was the strike by Government employees and teachers which was extended to  around two months. The Government was of the opinion that its biggest expense was in the form of payment of salaries and incentives to Government employees. With the intention of reducing such expenses the Government decided to  cut short the benefits given to these Government employees. The Government employees in turn resorted to strike (by not turning up to work for the next two months). They demanded the Government to withdraw its order reducing the benefits to Government employees. Even after strong protests from all over the state, the Government still had the upper hand and compromised the issue.

Another significant effort taken by the Government was to make Kerala investor friendly, such as conducting 'road shows' in foreign countries. Such road shows are organized in collaboration with the local Indian bodies in the foreign countries. It is through these road shows that the Government puts forward its incentive schemes to lure foreign investment to the State. The  project is  likely to kick start in America. Moreover the Government is taking deliberate steps to boost the  IT industry.

Constant fights with unloading workers is a daunting reality for the entrepreneurs in Kerala. Judging the seriousness of this issue the Government is taking active steps to reconstruct the Trade Union Act which will improve the business atmosphere in Kerala.

In conclusion, let's hope that the Government leads us into an even better third year of rule !

By Anoop