TN to set up 10 export centres for Rs 100 crore: Minister

CHENNAI: MSME’s output forms one-third of the total production in the country. The MSMEs are doing well in the automotive, leather, telecommunication, biotechnology and nanotechnology sectors. Out of the $112 billion in engineering exports last year, TN accounted for $16 billion, said TN Anbarasan, minister, MSME, TN on Thursday at the inaugural event of the International Engineering Sourcing Show.

Tamil Nadu is in second place among the states for engineering production in the country and is the third largest exporter of engineering goods, he said.

“In the last budget, the chief minister allocated Rs 4,617 crore for industrial development. TN is setting up ten export centres to the tune of Rs 100 cr. We set up five industrial estates to the value of Rs 171.24 crore. The Single Window Portal 2.0 received 12,113 applications out of which 10,940 were given licenses,” he said, noting that TN has given Rs 683 cr as subsidy to 19,332 entrepreneurs.

L Sathya Srinivas, addl secretary, department of commerce, union ministry of commerce and industry, in his address, said, “One of the components in Smart Engineering is innovation in technology. This year, our engineering export performance was better than last year in spite of the headwinds that have been affecting the global economy. The global agencies say India is a bright spot in the global economy and have predicted good growth for India. We have learnt to deal with the pandemic in situations that were unpredictable and have continued to stay afloat.”

V Arun Roy, secretary, MSME Department, TN, also addressed the gathering.

The sourcing show aims to project India’s capability in hard core metal and metal-based engineering. The ten-year-old event, spread over three days, kick started on Thursday.