At Jayalalithaa’s Chennai Fair, HCL’s Shiv Nadar Pledges $1 Billion Investment

Mangalore Today Network

Chennai Sep 09,2015: Full page ads in national newspapers this morning announced the Tamil Nadu government’s two-day meet for global investors that began in Chennai today. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa hopes to sign investment deals worth at least Rs. one lakh crore at the meet.

Here are the latest developments:

The government’s focus is on drawing investment for projects that will generate jobs in the state. Around 4,000 delegates have signed up, including companies from Japan, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Korea, Singapore and France.

Big names from India Inc like HCL’s Shiv Nadar, Anand Mahindra from Mahindra and Mahindra and Ford India chief Nigel Harris are at the Chennai Trade Centre in Nandambakkam for the meet, which the Chief Minister inaugurated. Mr Nadar, Chairman of HCL, announced that the company will invest one billion USD (over Rs. 6,000 crore) in Madurai and Tirunelveli in the next five years.

Senior officials said they expect key investment in sectors like manufacturing, energy, handloom, Information Technology, agriculture, animal husbandry and automobiles, besides micro and macro enterprises.

The state government is wooing investors with the promise of single-window clearance and 30-day approval for projects, ready land and good connectivity.

It will also back its pitch for investment with the promise of uninterrupted power supply and skilled manpower resources.

Over the last four years, a severe power shortage had crippled small industry in the state. The government says the situation has now improved dramatically and it expects to have permanent surplus power by the year end.

The state spends Rs. 13,000 crore on subsidy for food, power and transport and Rs. 4,600 crore on freebies like mixer-grinders, laptops and stationery in schemes named after the chief minister. This year’s budget projects a revenue deficit of Rs. 4,616 crore and fiscal deficit of Rs. 32,000 crore.

The opposition has called the meet a farce, pointing out that the AIADMK government is holding it only at the very end of its five-year term. "Many industrialists and groups are being threatened to sign deals giving exaggerated investment commitments," alleged the DMK’s MK Stalin.

The meet was cancelled twice earlier because of the conviction of Ms Jayalalithaa in a corruption case last year. She had to step down as chief minister and was sworn in again in May this year after a higher court acquitted her.

Tamil Nadu will vote for a new assembly in 2016 and Ms Jayalalithaa will make a bid to return as chief minister of a state that has, for the last 30 years, chosen a different party every time, alternating between the AIADMK and DMK.

Courtesy: NDTV