Only TN has fair mix of biz, welfare: OPS

At a two-day media conclave, underway here, he said the state would move towards realising the vision of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.  ‘‘As the world moves forward, we in TN will move even faster to grow and develop. ‘We will constantly update our policy framework and redouble our efforts. Our effort will be to not only retain TN’s lead in the sectors that it is strong in, but also to make a breakthrough in emerging and sunrise sectors,’’ he said.  

Observing that the World Bank President in his meeting with the late Chief Minister had appreciated the model of development, Pannerselvam said ‘‘In a context where governments have either a welfare agenda or a business-friendly agenda, TN is a rare exception. It combines a business-friendly agenda with adequate attention and funding for welfare’’, he added. TN would be a knowledge hub for innovation and emerge as the country’s most attractive investment destination and one of the three most attractive in Asia. ‘‘A total investment in infrastructure of Rs 15 lakh crores is planned. These are not idle promises  or mere ideas. Implementation of more than 100 of the 217  projects and programmes identified under the Vision Tamil Nadu 2023 document has already commenced.’’ he said. 

Stating that TN was the leader in renewable energy, Panneerselvam said it would aim to be the leaders in bio-technology, information and communication technology and the most modern techniques of manufacture.   States must be provided the necessary legislative, administrative and fiscal space to function effectively to fulfil the aspirations of the people. ‘‘Strong, performing states are essential for a strong union,’’ he added.  South was a rapidly growing region with states that complement each other, the Chief Minister said ‘‘as states, we compete. we contest. we collaborate.  we cooperate. we coordinate.  we learn from each other and we grow. That is the true success of a healthy federal democracy.’’ 

In 1991, TN’s per capita income was still below the national average. Today, it was nearly 75 per cent above the average. The goal was to ensure that its per capita income reaches that of upper middle income countries by 2023 with people having access to infrastructure and services comparable to the best globally available. TN’s economy has registered the “strongest and most consistent” economic growth among all states, the Chief Minister said. It has become the second largest state economy in India.  ‘‘But it is not only economic growth in TN that has been significant, it is the one state that has sustained its level of social sector expenditure,’’ Panneerselvam said.  Observing that TN attracts the third highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country, he said the foreign investment coming into TN would be even more.  ‘‘A significant portion of the foreign investment made in TN is counted against other states where the Indian head offices of some foreign companies are located,’’ he added. 

He also said TN has the largest number of factories and largest employment in Industry of close to two million people amongst all states in India. The share of the services sector in the economy was one of the highest in India.  TN today has a very diversified industrial base. The state holds the leading position in many industries in India--textiles, leather, automobiles and auto components, heavy and light engineering, electronics manufacture, IT and IT-enabled services, and healthcare. Panneerselvam said the share of the services sector in the economy was one of the highest in India and the state’s sustained performance was now spoken of as an established model of development.