TN plans to set up over 100 industrial clusters

There are plans to establish more than 100 industrial clusters across the State under Cluster Development Programme (CDP) that would provide common facilities for taking up activities collectively, according to Harmander Singh, Industries Commissioner and Director of Industries and Commerce, Tamil Nadu.

He said the allocation to the MSME sector has also been stepped up from more than Rs 100 crore last year to over Rs 150 crore this year and with the Central assistance included this may top Rs 200 crore.

Inaugurating the Coimbatore Economic Summit 2012 (CES 2012), organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) here on Friday, he said the State Government was keen to give a fillip to the MSME sector that benefited from schemes such as capital subsidy, reimbursement of VAT, subsidy to buy diesel powered gensets etc.

He said the allocation under these schemes was gradually going up and last year more than Rs 100 crore was provided by the State Government itself. This year’s target was to cross Rs 150 crore and with the addition of Central assistance, this might cross Rs 200 crore, he said.

Harmander Singh said under the Cluster Development Programme any project up to Rs 15 crore could be taken up by a cluster of units engaged in similar activities.

In Coimbatore itself, a wet grinder cluster and a foundry cluster were in operation. Nearly 15 applications for cluster development have been filed and the Government has planned to take up 100 such CDPs in Tamil Nadu. This was to provide value addition in terms of common facility centres where activities that could not be taken up individually by the units could be done collectively.

He said “many more schemes, many more facilities, many more handholding exercises” were being planned by the Government that would unfold “in a short time”. He said Coimbatore and Tirupur entrepreneurs showed greater interest in the schemes (launched by the Centre and the State) than those from other districts. And, most of the allocation was absorbed in these areas.

Jayakumar Ramdass, Convenor, CES 2012, said tier II cities like Pune, Ludhiana, Surat, Rajkot etc equipped with better infrastructure were posing a challenge to Coimbatore and unless the key concerns of the city are addressed, it might not be able to maintain its competitiveness. The business of today was dependent on external factors such as infrastructure, skill development, government policies etc and it was essential to create an environment conducive and supportive to industrial growth.

R.R. Balasundharam, President, ICCI, said the objective of the summit was to bring to the fore developmental issues concerning trade, commerce and the industry in Coimbatore that required immediate attention.

COMMENT NOW