The Tamil Nadu government is going to focus more on bringing large technology companies, including Google and Amazon, to the newly announced Tech Cities that will come up in Chennai, Hosur, and Coimbatore, said IT Minister Mano T Thangaraj. “Negotiations are underway, and many companies have approached the government about coming to Tamil Nadu,” he said.
In the State Budget presented on Monday, the finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan announced that three tech cities will come up in the IT corridor of Chennai (in 120 acres), Hosur (in 500 acres), and Coimbatore (land is yet to be decided). At Umagine2023, he said, a platform will propel the mission of leveraging technology organised by the Tamil Nadu government.
‘Dire necessity’
The minister said that there is a dire necessity for more Centres of Excellence and research centres to be established in the tech cities. There will be a lot of focus on innovation with high-end labs.
On social infrastructure, there is a demand from the industry for recreational and health facilities. All these will be taken care of in the tech cities, where housing facilities will also be provided, he said.
Tamil Nadu has all the potential to become the technology capital of India. The State is currently ranked third, after Karnataka and Telangana. “It is not a slogan. We can achieve it,” said Thangaraj.
In the last two years, the government has taken a number of initiatives, established a wide range of contacts, including country partners.
Arvind Kumar, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India, said the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd. has proposed to set up an Electronic Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) at Pillaipakkam (in 230 acres) with FS India Solar Ventures Private Limited as the anchor client and at Manallur (in 500 acres) with Voltas Ltd. as the anchor unit. He said the appraisals of the two proposals were being carried out. The STPI is the nodal agency for implementing EMC, he said.
The EMC 2.0 Scheme promotes the electronics manufacturing sector by providing support for creating common facilities and amenities, including ready-built factory sheds and Plug and Play facilities, to attract major global electronics manufacturers and their supply chains to set up units in the country, he said.
The total IT ITES exports from Tamil Nadu, including the software exports reported by the IT ITES units in SEZ, are estimated at ₹2 lakh crores for FY22–23, he said.
Published on March 23, 2023
