Stating that it was not authorised by the Union government, Jayakumar refuted the charges that TN had performed poorly in attracting foreign investments besides falling in the ‘ease of doing business’ index.

Speaking to media persons after garlanding the statue of freedom fighter Azhagumuthu Kone in the city, the minister said the media should not go by an unauthorised report which could not be accepted.

“Tamil Nadu is the model State for growth. Most of the industries are coming here since ours is a peaceful state. More investors will come after the Global Investors Meet to be held by the State government,” he said.

The report was released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, which falls under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The report is an indicator of the ease of doing business in India, judged on reform implementation and business to government feedback on the reforms implemented by the State. It ranked the States and Union Territories combining the scores in reform evidence scorecard and feedback scorecard.

Meanwhile, PMK leader S Ramadoss backed the report and said investors are moving to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana due to the prevailing corruption in Tamil Nadu. Since that situation would prevail till the present government remains, the industrial sector in Tamil Nadu would continue to decline.

He also hoped that the AIADMK government would be removed soon and the next government would bring out special schemes to draw foreign investments which would increase industrial growth. The poor performance of the State in industries sector had increased unemployment and led to reduced revenue for the government. The debt burden on the state had increased and it would soon be caught in a debt trap, Ramadoss added.