Tmail Nadu

TAMIL NADU

General Profile

Tamil Nadu is a state at the southern tip of India. The bordering states and union territories are Pondicherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The island nation of Srilanka lies off the southeast coast.

Tamil Nadu has a long eastern coastline dotted with enchanting beaches with Bay of Bengal in the east. Marina in Chennai is one of the longest beaches in the world. Arabian sea and the states of Kerala and Karnataka form the boundary in the west. Western Ghats have sanctuaries such as Mudumalai wildlife and The Nilgiris, the Queen of Hills. The state is bounded in the north by the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Pulicat Lake is in the extreme north.

Tamil Nadu is one of the most industrialised states in India with a high Human Development Index (HDI). Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the capital city of Tamil Nadu, is the gateway of south India with an international airport, seaports and good rail and road network connectivity. Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli, Salem and Tirunelveli are some of the other major towns in the state. The state has large number of good educational institutions and is one of the leaders in the field of Science and Technology and particularly in Information Technology.

Tamil Nadu is one of the well developed states in terms of industrial development and in the post liberalization era, the state has emerged as one of the front-runners by attracting a large number of domestic and foreign investments. It is one of the major recipients of outside investments, particularly of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Several multi-nationals such a Ford Motors of USA, Hyundai of Korea, St. Gobain of France, Nokia of Finland, etc. have established their units in Tamil Nadu. Motorola of USA has signed an MOU with the State Government in June 2006 to establish a mobile phone and networking equipment manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs. 130 crore that would employ 2600 people.

Advantage Tamil Nadu

• Fastest growing state economy in India.
• One of the top three recipients of Foreign Direct Investment(FDI).
• Matured manufacturing sector.
• Fast emerging as the IT happening destination.
• Stable political climate.
• Pro-active and investor friendly government with transparent decision-making approach.
• Peaceful living conditions and low crime rate.
• People’s adaptability to change.
• Most urbanized state.
• Ranks no.1 in availability of skilled manpower in India.
• Most sought after destination by MNCs.
• Excels in terms of human resource, infrastructure and labour relations.
• Low cost of man power.
• Lower cost of living when compared to other locations.
• Largest tour-out of engineers technicians (1,30,000 from a network of 252 Engineering Colleges & 210 Polytechnics).
• Well qualified, skilled, disciplined, productivity oriented and English speaking work-force.
• High literacy rate of 73.5%.
• Modern ports (with container handling facilities) and airports with direct links to Europe and East Asia.
• Tamilnadu has 3 major Ports: Chennai Ennore and Tuticorin with twin port advantage at Chennai and Ennore apart from 14 minor Ports.
• 270 passenger flight and 28 cargo flights per week at Chennai Airport-the Largest in South India.
• A total road network of 150,000 kms.
• The only Power surplus state in India.
• World-class health care facilities-Chennai is the health care capital of India
• Availability of world-class bandwidth connectivity and telecom infrastructure for high speed large volume data transfer.
• Well-developed network of industrial parks offering plug and play infrastructural facilities.
• Fastest growing retail market in India
• American International school and 3 other International Schools for experts

Economic Profile

Major industries

Textile Industry

The Textile Industry of TamilNadu has the distinction of being the forerunner to the industrial development of the State. The textile industry plays a significant role in the economy of the State and the export market of this industry is a source for earning foreign exchange. Various sectors of this industry, viz. Handloom, Powerloom, Spinning, Processing, Knitwear and Garment production serve as a major employment provider to the qualified as well as ordinary public.

The handloom sector of Tamilnadu is of heritage value and the history of excellent craftsmanship of handloom weaving in the State dates back by thousands of years. At present, there are 34.86 lakh handlooms in India, of which 4.13 lakh handlooms are located in the State providing employment to 6.08 lakh weavers. The average annual sales of handloom cloth by the State are around Rs.1, 800 crore and this include the sales through export worth around Rs.875 crore.

Leather Industry

The state has 70 per cent of the tanning capacity in India. Tamil Nadu is making a dominant presence in the leather and leather-based industries. Government has set up Industrial estates and common effluent treatment plants to provide possible infrastructure support and capital subsidies.

Agro-based industries

Tamil Nadu posse’s ideal climatic conditions for a strong agro based food industry. It also provides favorable climatic conditions for the cultivation of a variety of fruits and vegetables in the Madurai-Dindigul belt. Tamil Nadu has also proved itself as a world leader in agricultural production with a high yield per hectare of sugarcane, rice and groundnut. with the area around Coimbatore (identified as an intensive floriculture zone), Dharmapuri and the Nilgiris being earmarked as ideal locations for the cultivation of flowers such as rose and chrysanthemum, the floriculture industry is likely to get a boost. Its long coastline (1000 Kms) offers opportunities for marine products based industry.

Chemicals and Petrochemicals

The chemical industry is a prominent industry in the state of Tamil Nadu mainly situated in Manali (situated on the outskirts of Chennai) Cuddalore, Panangudi (Nagapattinam) and Tuticorin.

Mineral-based industries

The mineral wealth of the state comprises granite, limestone and lignite. There are 12 major cement plants functioning in the state. The major players are Tamil Nadu Cements (TANCEM), Dalmia Cements, Madras Cements, India Cements, Grasim Industries, Associated Cement Companies and Chettinad Cements.

Automobile ancillaries

Chennai, the “Detroit of India” is emerging as a major export hub for cars in South East Asia. Major automobile manufacturers like Ford, Hyundai, HM-Mitsubishi, Ashok Leyland, TAFE, etc. have their manufacturing base in Tamil Nadu. The main thrust to the auto industry has come because of skilled manpower coupled with the states strong engineering industry background. Adding to this the ports of Tamil Nadu at Chennai and Tuticorin help facilitate the export and import of the desired materials for the auto industry thereby reducing the cost of transport.

Information Technology (IT) & Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES)

Tamil Nadu continues to register remarkable progress in the Information Technology sector. The Software export from the State, which was Rs.20,700 Crores in 2006-2007 is expected to cross Rs.28,000 Crores in 2007-2008.

Tamil Nadu is emerging as the preferred destination for IT Software and Hardware Companies. The number of IT-ITES SEZs in the State is an indication of this. So far, 37 IT-ITES SEZs spread over an extent of 1226.32 hectares have been given formal approval by the Government of India. Out of this, 19 have been notified and have commenced operation.
Apart from this, 1 Multi Service SEZ covering an extent of 121.41 hectares and 2 Multi Product SEZs covering an extent of 2192.44 hectares have also been given formal approval in Tamil Nadu. In addition, 6 Electronic Hardware, Software and Related Service SEZs covering an extent of 464.45 hectares have also got formal approval. Thus, Tamil Nadu is ideally placed to attract investments in the IT – ITES and Electronic Hardware manufacturing sector.

All the top IT companies of India have been expanding their activities in Tamil Nadu. Tata Consultancy Services is setting up a new 70 acre campus at Siruseri. This is nearing completion. Wipro has already commenced operations in their newly established 80 acre campus at Sholinganallur and is developing another 90 acre campus in Mahindra World City. HCL is expecting to complete its latest campus at Sholinganallur over an extent of 50 acres this year. Satyam Computer Services is also building its additional campus over an extent of 50 acres at Sholinganallur. Cognizant Technology Solutions has already commenced work on a new 25 acre SEZ at Siruseri and is expected to start work at Sholinganallur soon.

Tourism

The tourism sector in Tamil Nadu has great potential to create employment and thus contribute meaningfully to economic development. Tamil Nadu is known for various tourist attractions, allures a large number of tourists. The colossal temple towers, palm-fringed beaches, cool and salubrious hill destinations, man-made marvels etc. are the primary attractions of this state. Besides, the culture, handicrafts, eco-tourism, health tourism, village tourism, etc., make this state as a peaceful domain for the visitors to sojourn in Tamil Nadu. Attractive handlooms and handicrafts in various hues and colours speak about their own intricate workmanship. Health tourism has opened up new vistas as there are numerous high -end medical care facilities are available in the state, which are cost-effective.

Tamil Nadu is being promoted as an “enchanting” destination for holidaying in Southern India through massive publicity and marketing and provision of infrastructural facilities and basic amenities at potential tourist spots. Private sector participation is being encouraged in development of tourism. A three pronged approach is being adopted to promote tourism in the State: (i) major publicity campaigns, (ii) creation of infrastructure at tourist spots and (iii) offering attractive packages.

Investment Profile in the State

Investor’s Profile in the state-

Unique Opportunities Regarding Investments-

• Business-savvy state government
• Responsive local administration
• Good railways, ports and telecom network
• Adequate road connectivity
• Availability of low cost labour through out the state.