The Tamil Nadu Government will soon announce its industrial policy that will target a 14 per cent growth in manufacturing, the Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, said.
The Government is giving final touches to industry-specific policies such as automobiles, auto components, bio-technology, aerospace and renewable energy with special focus on solar power generation, she said.
NEEDS launch
The Government will launch a ‘New Entrepreneur-cum-Enterprise Development Scheme' (NEEDS) in the current financial year. The initiative is to train budding entrepreneurs and handhold them through the initial stages of their new ventures to obtaining assistance from financial institutions, she said.
Delivering a special address at the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Indian Overseas Bank here today, she said the State had a historical advantage in MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector but “of late, the growth of this critical sector has slowed down.” NEEDS will address this issue.
Banks should go beyond education loans and finance start-ups to promote entrepreneurship.
Agriculture investment
Besides manufacturing investment in agriculture is crucial to increase productivity , she said. Banks must ensure that flow of agriculture credit continues unimpaired. The credit flow to agriculture for the current financial year is targeted at Rs 48,584 crore, which represents “a substantial step up” over the target of Rs 31,017 crore in 2011-12.
And, she appealed to banks to work in tandem with the government to achieve these goals. “I exhort all bankers to redouble their efforts to raise the State to the Number 1 ranking in the financial domain,” she said.
She lauded Indian Overseas Bank for pledging its support to implement the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023. She also praised the bank for maintaining its prominent position in Tamil Nadu with the largest network of branches.
To ensure leakage-proof delivery of government schemes, she said, the state government would like to ensure that all the social security pensions are disbursed through banks. “The process has begun, but needs to expand rapidly to cover all recipients,” she said. Similarly, the disbursement of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act should also be done entirely through the banking system.
Inclusive growth
Mr M. Narendra, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Overseas Bank, said the bank has registered “a tremendous growth” in business and branch network across the country in the last 18 months. The bank has also won several accolades for its inclusive banking with tribal groups in Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu.