64 SOCIAL SCIENTIST buildings, it is likely to have good demand in house construction, especially from upper income groups. There is a wave of construction activity generated by the inflow of remittances into Kerala from abroad. To achieve the purpose for which mini industrial estates are set up the following modifications in the implementation of the programme have to be brought about. 1) The communication gap between the servicing agencies and the units has to be reduced. Entrepreneures should be given the freedom to choose plant and machinery they consider efficient at their risk. 2) Three days' time given for reporting the defects in the machinery is too short as qualified technicians are not so easy to get. 3) Fifteen days5 time allotted for the trial run of the machine also appears to be short especially because within this period the entrepreneur has to get the wiring done and connections made. 4) Working capital requirements are generally considered to be equal to three months' cost of production; SBT and other lending institutions advancing working capital to MIE units have to ensure that the units do not become "sick" for want of working capital. 5) The quantum of minimum long-term loan to be advanced by KFG has to be determined in relation to the cost of plant and machinery. 6) In-plant training has to be made obligatory, especially for entrepreneurs who set up units to manufacture sophisticated items involving technical skill of a higher order. K T AMMUKUTTY (The author is grateful to P Balakrishna Nair and proprietors of MIE units/or their cooperation) 1 Draft Five Tear Plan 1978-83, State Planning Board, Government of Kerala. '2 Kerala in Agricultural Statistics 1965-66 to 1975-76, Kerala Agricultural University. 8 Statistical Abstract of Punjab 1977, Economic Adviser to the Government of Punjab. Also see Rural and Urban Projection, India, Office of the Census Commissioner. 4 Draft Five Tear Plan, op cit. 5 J^ew Industrial Programme, Kerala State Industiral Development Corporation (KSIDC;. 6 Seuenagalum, ICadamakulum, Mini Industrial Estate Programme, KSIDC. 7 Raju Kurian, "Patterns of Emigration from Kerala", Social Scientist, January 1979.