Tamil Nadu eyes Rs 75,000 crore investment in aerospace, defence

CHENNAI: Chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday unveiled a revised Tamil Nadu Aerospace and Defence Policy 2022 to attract fresh investment of 75,000 crore and generate employment for one lakh people over the next 10 years.
Stalin also inaugurated two centres of Excellence (CoEs) established at Tidel Park in partnership with state-owned Tidco by Siemens and GE Aviation, besides two remote pilot training centres at Madurai and Coimbatore.
"Over the past 15 months, Tamil Nadu has been in the fast lane of growth, especially the industries department. As a result, the state is attracting attention not only from within India but from across the world," Stalin said here, addressing the Industry 4.0 conclave 'Future is Now - Towering Tamil Nadu' here.
This government has set a target to make Tamil Nadu a $1 trillion economy by 2030 and industries minister (Thangam Thennarasu) and industries secretary (S Krishnan) along with other officials are tirelessly working towards achieving it, the chief minister said.
The revised policy's vision is to make Tamil Nadu the preferred destination to invest, innovate and create products and services in the aerospace and defence sector. Its mission is to create a robust, world class, high technology, efficient aerospace and defence (A&D) manufacturing eco-system in the state, attracting global OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers and Indian majors.
With a fresh set of incentives for various categories of industries, especially with Tamil Nadu emerging as a major contributor to the Centre's defence corridor initiative, the new policy intends to develop innovation centres and start-up hubs. The policy supersedes the earlier policy unveiled in 2019 and would be valid till the next revision or for four years up to March 31, 2026.
"With Tamil Nadu recording the highest share of over 51% of students opting for higher studies, the state is focusing on skill development as well as upgradation and by establishing more centres of excellence, the focus is clearly on Industry 4.0," Stalin said referring to CoEs established by Siemens (TANSAM) with an investment of 251 crore and by GE Aviation (TAMCOE) with an investment of 141 crore. Tamil Nadu is keen to develop both manufacturing and services segments to achieve inclusive growth, the chief minister added.