Tamil Nadu government plans to announce a new industrial policy in a month or two to facilitate various activities, including industrial housing projects for employees, mainly migrant labourers. The State government is also working on a new export promotion policy, said Industry Secretary N Muruganandam.
In a bid to retain employees, especially migrant labourers, the Tamil Nadu government is planning to have two big housing projects in Sriperumbudur with the help of Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Ltd, Muruganandam said while speaking at Luminous Tamil Nadu - A Digital Conclave on “Becoming the Numero Uno State under the New Normal," organised by CII.
“Our vision is to have dedicated housing facilities in all the Sipcot parks and other industrial clusters like Ambur and Vaniyambadi. We are focussing on industrial housing, which is a very important need, if we want to retain our employees, particularly migrant labourers,” he added.
The conclave, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami, highlighted the impact of Covid-19 on the Tamil Nadu Economy and also find out new ways and measures for the State to become Numero Uno in the new normal.
Muruganandam said that the industry department is focussing on four major areas. The first is to improve existing industries to get back to normalcy by facilitating their reopening and ease their problems, if any. This has been successful thanks to many interactions with industries.
The second is to improve the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) by simplifying procedures under various Acts like Factories Act, Local body permissions and land matters. While improving EoDB, there is also a focus on post-approval clearances. Till now, though the Single Window, the emphasis on pre-approval clearances, he said.
The third is to attract new investment. A special Task Force has been formed under the Chief Secretary on attracting investment from various countries. Guidance, which is the State’s investment promotion agency, has been strengthened. There are country-specific cells in Guidance for all focus countries. A series of Outreach programmes have been launched, and the Chief Minister has already written personally to many global CEOs. The recent MoUs that the State government had signed is a vindication of the efforts, he said.
The fourth is to develop industrial infrastructure, which is very important in the medium term. The State government has identified 23 industrial infrastructure projects to be implemented within the next 24 months. They are the polymer park in Ennore; Medi Park in Chengalpet; Pharmaceutical park in Cheyyar or Manalur; Electric Vehicle Park in Manalur; three new Sipcot parks (Tindivanam, Manaparai and Dharmapuri); desalination plant for industrial water in Tuticorin and Cuddalore and five mega food parks, said Muruganandam.
The total investment will be around ₹10,000 crore. This is only from the Industries Department. There may be other projects like in highways and municipal administration, he told BusinessLine.
“To facilitate all these, the government is working on a new industrial policy, and also in the new export promotion policy. We are confident that we will bounce back and emerge much stronger than what we were after Covid-19,” he added.