Chennai: Tamil Nadu has attracted over Rs 90,000 crore worth of investments by signing 132 memoranda of understanding soon after the government assumed office in May 2021 and the investments led to generation of over two lakh jobs, the state government said on Friday.
Minister for Industries Thangam Thennarasu said the government has received investments in various sectors including aerospace, defence, Information Technology, IT-enabled services making the state as the most preferable destination for investors.
"We have received Rs 94,975 crore worth of investments in the last one year and 2.27 lakh jobs were created. We signed 132 MoUs. The investments are spread across various sectors including automobile, agriculture, solar photovoltaic, aerospace, retail, textiles among others," he told reporters here.
Noting that the government changed the name of the industries department into 'industrial promotion and commerce' to project Tamil Nadu as an investment-friendly destination, he said several companies were keen to ink an MoU with the government.
He said the government would hold a global investors conclave on July 4 and over 60 companies were expected to sign pacts with the government on the day.
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"It will be an important occasion since several big companies will be signing MoUs with the government on Monday in the presence of the Chief Minister (M K Stalin). The foundation stone laying ceremony of those projects taken up by companies will also be held that day," he said.
Maintaining that the government was focusing more on overall inclusive growth with all parts of the state witnessing a boost in investments instead of one particular region, he said the government has set up four zones and southern Tamil Nadu which was considered low in generation of new jobs, has created over 55,000 jobs there in the last one year.
To a query, he said Tamil Nadu was the only state to post a 'positive growth' during COVID-19 enforced lockdown in the last two years while other states reported 'negative' growth.
On the status of automobile major Ford's manufacturing facility at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai, he said the company initially informed the government that they will use the plant for manufacturing electric vehicles but later dropped the idea.
"Now they (management) are under discussion with employees on the severance package offered to the employees. I hope they will find an amicable solution," he said.
The facility is facing labour unrest as employees decided to stage a protest seeking a better severance package following the US-based car maker's decision to suspend production at the facility as part of a 'restructuring exercise'.