Thiruvananthapuram | Days after the Keralam government greenlit flight services by the cooperative sector, state Cooperation Minister M Liju said the move reflected the diversification of the state's cooperative movement.

He said the government was encouraging cooperative institutions and private entrepreneurs to accelerate the state's development.

The minister was speaking after inaugurating the first general body meeting of the Keralam Civil Aviation Development Cooperative Society Ltd, which aims to launch the first flight services by the cooperative sector, here on Wednesday.

"There is no sector in Keralam that the cooperative sector cannot reach. Its entry into aviation reflects the growth of the state's cooperative movement into diverse fields," he said.

The minister said the government would extend all support to cooperative societies in their efforts to restore public confidence in the cooperative movement.

The cooperative sector in Keralam was conducting business worth more than Rs 6.5 lakh crore and had considerable potential to contribute further to the state's development, he added.

Liju also said public-cooperative enterprises was an idea mooted in the state government's budget and expressed happiness that a project aimed at translating it into reality was taking shape.

At the function held here, the minister also handed over the society's registration certificate, bylaws and category statement to its chief promoter, C N Vijayakrishnan.

Chief Minister V D Satheesan had recently said the government had granted permission to the society to launch flight services.

Speaking after inaugurating the silver jubilee celebrations of the Calicut City Service Cooperative Society in Kozhikode on Sunday, he said the cooperative sector would start flight services for the first time in India.