2024: Big ticket investments boosts TN govt''s USD 1 tn dream

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu made sincere efforts in 2024 to realise its USD 1 trillion economy dream by 2030 as the ruling DMK government secured some big ticket investments and rolled out sector-specific policies, among others.

Measures regarding ease of doing business were also announced by the State government. The DMK government conducted its maiden Global Investors Meet (GIM) in 2024.

The year 2024 also witnessed the changing of hands at one of the city's iconic cement company, The India Cements Ltd. Billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla promoted UltraTech Cement announced the acquisition of the decades old, city-headquartered company, promoted by noted industrialist N Srinivasan.

The GIM in January fetched the government Rs 6.64 lakh crore investment commitments by several companies that would generate 26 lakh new jobs in the state.

Some of the big ticket investments include Rs 16,000 crore by Vietnam-based VinFast to establish a manufacturing facility in southern Tuticorin district that would generate about 20,000 new jobs, and the Rs 9,000 crore investment commitment by auto-maker Tata Motors to manufacture sports utility vehicle, electric vehicles at Ranipet. It would generate about 5,000 jobs in the region.

Chief Minister M K Stalin delegations to foreign countries including the US to firm up investments.

After the Parliamentary elections in May, Stalin later embarked on his European trip where he met top industrial leaders hailing from Spain. The government during his visit to Spain signed MoUs with large industrial companies like ROCA, Gestamp.

During his US visit, Stalin met representatives from reputed firms, 18 of them were from Fortune 500 companies. The government during the Chief Minister's visit to the US signed 19 MoUs totalling to Rs 7,618 crore of investment commitments in the State that would generate 12,000 jobs.

To give an impetus to the electric vehicle industry, the government is also in discussions with the state electricity board to enable setting up of charging facilities along arterial roads and highways as part of its efforts to support the EV industry. Nearly 40 per cent of EV four-wheelers produced in the country are from Tamil Nadu.

The government in its bid to focus on its 'distributed growth' perspective, announced that mini-TIDEL Parks (TIDEL Neo Parks) would be established in association with the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) and established such facilities in Villupuram, Karaikudi, Tirunelveli.

The Mini TIDEL Parks can accommodate about 500 IT professionals, equipped with air-conditioning facility, high-speed internet, uninterrupted power supply among others. The Mini-TIDEL Parks concept has the potential of taking the benefits of IT sector growth to smaller towns and villages of the State.

Responding to the investment proposals bagged by the Tamil Nadu government, noted political analyst Sumanth Raman commented that the government has to establish a dashboard in public domain, so as to ensure one would be able to understand how much of the investments committed by the companies has actually come into the state.

"It is the easiest thing to do (to set up a dashboard). But the government has not done it. Can you check online or even offline to get this data? For example, the Chief Minister had gone to Spain to invite companies to invest in the State. But we do not know from Spain what investment has come to the state, " he told PTI.

Raman recalled that when the DMK was in the opposition it asked the then AIADMK government to release a 'white paper' on the Global Investors Meet during their period.

Meanwhile, with the the Competition Commission of India clearing the Rs 7,000 crore India Cements acquisition deal following which it became a subsidiary of UltraTech, Srinivasan and a host of leaders who were in the Board of India Cements, stepped down in December.