TN a major destination for attracting FDI

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has become one of the major destinations of foreign direct investments in the country, state Commissioner for Industries and Director Industries Development, Rajiv Ranjan said on Tuesday.

"In the last two years, around Rs 19,000 crore worth of foreign direct investments have been made (in the state) and around 1,40,000 employments generated" he told reporters here.

When asked whether any specific target had been set to attract more FDIs into the State, he said, "It is an ongoing process. However, Tamil Nadu has a conducive atmosphere to attract more FDIs".

Earlier, participating in a workshop organised on 'Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojna (RGUMY)', a scheme for promotion and handholding of micro and small enterprises launched by the Centre recently, Ranjan said RGUMY should be networked.

"Through 'networking', one can access how many entrepreneurs are present in the country and it would also be able to understand which part of country has large number of entrepreneurs," Rajiv said.

In Tamil Nadu about five schemes have been sanctioned recently, and similarly, Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojna scheme would also take the lead, he hoped.

The commissioner also expressed concern that considering the growing entrepreneurs, "decentralisation of Udyami Mitras (the agencies involved in selecting the right enterprise/firm for the RGUMY scheme) should be there, so that, tier-II and tier-III Udyami Mitras, can be handled at the state level".