Industrial activity in the State will be opened up in a phased manner taking into consideration the reduction of Covid cases in Tamil Nadu, said Industry Minister Thangam Thennarasu during an interaction with select members of CII on Sunday.

The State government is taking numerous initiatives to safeguard the people from the Covid pandemic and is working closely with the industry for revival of economic growth in the State. The government will engage with industry and come out with an economic revival plan for Tamil Nadu, said a release from the CII quoting the minister.

CK Ranganathan, Chairman, CII Southern Region, appreciated the Chief Minister for his immediate action on a war footing in ensuring the availability of oxygen and other medical items required for treatment of Covid patients. CII members have readily come forward and donated generously for the Covid relief measures in collaboration with the State Government.

Some of the CII members in the meeting included T Kannan, Chairman & Managing Director; Thiagarajar Mills (P) Ltd; R Dinesh, JMD of TV Sundram Iyengar & Sons Pvt Ltd; B Santhanam, CMD of Saint-Gobain India Pvt Ltd; TT Ashok, MD of Taylor Rubber Pvt Ltd; S Chandrakumar, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu; Satyakam Arya, Vice Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu; Ravi Sam, MD of Adwaith Lakshmi Industries Ltd; P Ravichandran, President, Danfoss Industries Pvt Ltd and M Ponnuswami, CMD of Pon Pure Chemical India Pvt Ltd, the release said.

Some of the suggestions by the CII members to the minister include that the government look at micro containment zones as a strategy towards ensuring business continuity and livelihood rather than implementing lockdown in the entire district. Migrant workers are important for revival and sustaining the economic activity in the State, and the government should come out with a policy to support them.

The State government should support the MSME sector by giving financial packages and loan moratoriums to restart business. Rural vaccination has to be speeded up, and CII can collaborate with the Government including the District Administration towards achieving 100 per cent vaccination in rural areas, it said.

Government should consider removing the maximum demand charges for electricity usage by the industry during lockdown. It should do a water mapping to ensure availability of ground water before creating new industrial parks. CII Water Institute can collaborate with the State Government in this important area of work, it said.

Tamil Nadu should facilitate and simplify the ease of doing business initiatives in the State in order to attract more investments and also to move up in the EoDB ranking of the State, the release said.

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