The government is planning to develop an industrial estate at Perundurai through the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (Sipcot), Industries Minister M.C. Sampath has said.
Inaugurating a three-day International Engineering Sourcing Show, organised by EEPC India here on Wednesday, he said the estate would come up on an area of more than 1,000 acres.
Addressing the media, he said the project would mark the second phase of the Perundurai industrial estate. The first phase was fully occupied. The second phase would house industries from different sectors, the Minister said.
The State government is focusing on Chennai and Coimbatore for industrial development. A Fintech City is being set up in Chennai at a cost of ₹270 crore. Ford has established a research and development facility at a cost of ₹1,500 crore in Chennai. The Chief Minister would inaugurate a biotechnology park in Coimbatore shortly. It would have 10 to 12 floors. A portion of the space would be dedicated to biotechnology while the rest would go to the IT sector. The park was developed at a cost of ₹80 crore.
On the Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor, Mr. Sampath said the State government would soon create a cell with a special officer. “We have a base for defence products. We should motivate the industry further and come out with schemes to attract investments,” he said.
In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, the coir industry in Pollachi is facing challenges due to a drop in coir fibre exports to China — its main buyer. When asked about this, Mr. Sampath said two rounds of discussions were held with the Chief Minister on this issue, and steps would soon be taken to ensure that the sector is not affected further.
Minister for Rural Industries and MSME P. Benjamin said the Tamil Nadu government was planning to set up industrial parks in Chennai, Kancheepuram, and Tiruvallur for micro enterprises. If there was such a demand for Coimbatore, it would be taken up with the Chief Minister, he said.
The State government has taken several steps to benefit MSMEs. The two global investors’ summits that were held in the State have attracted ₹15,710 crore in investments from 11,058 MSMEs. Since May 2018, when the MSME single window portal was launched, 54 approvals have been provided online.
Union Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said that for the country to achieve the $1-trillion export target, collective efforts were needed. The country should have an investor- and manufacturing sector-friendly environment. The Central government had taken several steps to improve the ease of doing business. Special Economic Zones had been a success for some sectors. Similar state-of-the-art facilities were needed for manufacturing as well, he said.
The Centre had recently engaged with export promotion councils to discuss the impact of COVID-19. If there were any threats to the supply chain, the councils should address them, work jointly and source the required materials for their members, he said.
Rajendra Kumar, MSME secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu, said, “We have seen a significant jump in new MSMEs in the State this year. Tamil Nadu is a prime destination for investments.”
