KOCHI: In an attempt to woo investors and increase job creation in the state, the state government will subsidize new industrial projects, based on the number of employees. While inaugurating ASCEND Kerala 2020, a global investors’ meet, in Kochi on Thursday, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared that the government will be offering a five-year subsidy for investors who are going to invest in Kerala from April 2020 onwards.“This will be applicable to all new projects that are going to be registered from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025. The registered project will not take off the very next day and hence we are factoring in that and are giving a five-year period for completion of the project,” Vijayan said.“We might give a substantial amount as a subsidy, but subject to the approval after further discussions. One thing is sure, the subsidy amount for a woman worker will be Rs 2,000 higher than that of a man – we are also aiming women empowerment through this project. Our ultimate aim is to eradicate unemployment in Kerala within the next 20 years,” he said.However, the subsidy scheme will be offered only to those investors who enrol their employees with ESI and PF schemes. “With this project, we are expecting 37 lakh families to be brought under the social security net,” he said.The CM also announced a number of other measures to increase ease of doing business. The local self-governments will be asked to create a conducive environment for employment generation, Vijayan said. “We will ask them to help create five new jobs every year for every 1,000 people in their area,” he said.Another major announcement was the relaxation on the limit of land holdings of companies. “Currently there is a land ceiling of 15 acres a company could hold and this is restricting the operations of industries here. Hence, a company which has Rs 250 crore investments or employee strength of 1,000 will be exempted from this,” Vijayan said.The ceiling for financial aid from Kerala industrial development corporation (KSIDC), fixed years ago, will be raised from the current Rs 35 crore to Rs 100 crore, chief minister said, adding that in deserving cases, this could even go beyond the limit.RP Group chairman Ravi Pillai said that the Kerala MSME Facilitation Act 2019 had been hugely beneficial to the majority of industrial units in the state, as they belong to the MSME segment.M A Yusuffali, chairman, LuLu Group, said that those who complain about the traffic congestion in Kerala should visit other states to understand the comparatively worse situations in those places.