The Government is keen to make Puducherry an investor-friendly Union Territory and is working on a single window model for providing clearances with a time line for industries intending to set up units here, Revenue and Industries Minister M.O.H.F. Shahjahan has said.
Speaking at a consultative meeting with industrial bodies here on Wednesday, he said the applications would be cleared based on all requirements within 30 days of submission and in case it needed time, there would be a maximum time frame of 45 days. “We want to make Puducherry an investor-friendly UT,” he said.
With the vibrant French culture prevailing here, Puducherry could act as a hub for training people required for IT companies since large industries could not be visualised because of the land constraint. Puducherry could provide a backup for major IT companies because of its topography and the ability to withstand natural calamities such as floods unlike the neighbouring States.
The Minister said the Government had sought feedback from industries before finalising the Industrial policy and the Information Technology policy would be framed after registering the feedback from stakeholders. A high-level committee would man the single-window system for speedy clearance of applications.
Air connectivity
He said that in the first week of February, the air service would commence and there was a proposal to operate ferry service linking Chennai, Puducherry, and Karaikal. The Government was planning to introduce paperless governance in a time-bound manner and make Puducherry a digital city.
PIPDIC Chairman and MLA R. Siva and Secretary to Information Technology D. Manikandan participated in the meeting.
