By IANS,
Madurai : The Tamil Nadu government will shortly come out with a separate incentives package to attract investments to the southern districts in the state, said a senior government official here Friday.
“The main need of these districts is job-led industrial development. The state government will announce a structured incentive package for companies investing here and in other parts of the state excepting Chennai, Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur,” said Industries Department Principal Secretary M.F. Farooqui.
In his address at SPEED 2008, a two-day conference on ‘Southern Prosperity Through Enhanced Economic Development’, Farooqui said the government will grant as soft loan the total amount a company would spend as value-added tax (VAT) for the first five years of operations.
“Only for those companies that generate employment for a minimum of 750 people will be eligible. The loan will attract a 0.1 percent interest, which can be repaid after seven years,” he added.
Referring to the worrisome power shortage in the state, Farooqui said the Koodangulam nuclear power plant will likely generate 900 MW of power in the next three years, while 1,800 MW would be produced by new power projects to come up in the public sector, for which the tenders have been already settled.
“Cumulatively, in the next three years, Tamil Nadu is expected to generate 7,500 MW of power in the next four years,” he said.
P.W.C. Davidar, information technology department secretary, said in the next three to four months, Tamil Nadu will have 5,400 “Common Service Centres” operational under the government’s e-governance initiative.
The objective of e-governance projects is to provide virtually all government services online.