At a time when Tamil Nadu has seen the closure of the Ford India unit, state Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu said the state was expected to see investment worth around Rs 35 trillion by 2030 and had got projects of about Rs 20,000 crore since the new government took charge in May.
Soon after the closure of the Ford plant, the state government had assured all it would take steps to ensure that around 2,600 employees were not affected by the company’s move. Stating that a suitable decision in this regard will come from Stalin, Thennarasu said: “The matter is now under consideration at the chief minister’s level. He is monitoring it.”
The minister said the state was keen on investment in the electric vehicle segment.
“We have lined up a long-term e-mobility plan. This is going to be the future of the country. However, we should develop the ecosystem like the charging station,” Thennarasu said. The state’s “doors are wide open” for manufacturers like Tesla to set up their units, he said. In the two-wheeler space, the major commitments that the state got include Ola Electric (Rs 2,354 crore), TVS Electric (Rs 1,000 crore), Ather Energy (Rs 635 crore), Srivaru Motors (Rs 1,000 crore), Ampere Vehicles (Rs 700 crore), and Simple Energy (Rs 350 crore).
Chennai is a base of 30 per cent of the country’s automobile industry and 35 per cent of the automobile component segment. The state is also in the process of setting up a dedicated EV park at Manalur near Chennai.
He said to ensure that the industrial sector and exports were not affected by a third wave, vaccination was given to the sectors on priority. “We had given focus to industry for vaccination and is now covered. Because of this, industrial activity is insulated from the pandemic,” he said.
The state has a long-term road map of becoming a $1-trillion economy by quadrupling its exports in the next nine years.
“By 2030, the state may generate around 2.5 million jobs. The sectors we are focusing on include the state’s traditional strongholds like textiles, general manufacturing, and leather. In addition to this, priority is being given to food processing, renewable energy, fintech, data centres, e-mobility, aerospace components, defence production, and semiconductors,” Thennarasu said.
In August, the state signed agreements with 35 companies. That may see investments of around Rs 17,141 crore, creating jobs for about 55,000 people. In late September, deals were signed with another 24 companies for projects worth around Rs 2,121 crore. “We have seen around Rs 20,000-crore investment in five months. This is despite being hit by the second wave of the pandemic,” he added.
Targeting exports of $100 billion by 2030, the state last month rolled out an export promotion policy.
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