Meeting begins to draw up Vision 2025 roadmap

CHENNAI: In a bid to realise Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s dream of making Tamil Nadu the best State in the country, bureaucrats and industry began thrashing out roadmap for Vision 2025 document by holding consultative meeting here on Monday.The meeting, which was inaugurated by Industry Minister S P Velumani, highlighted the need to develop infrastructure, build ports and shipyards, boost gas infrastructure by laying gas pipelines, developing city gas distribution in 25 cities besides setting up rural business process outsourcing and a city transportation regulatory authority on the lines of State Energy Regulatory council.Velumani said the government’s prime focus will be on creating job opportunities and giving a new lease of life to manufacturing sector besides laying special emphasis on biotech, nanotech and pharmaceuticals sector. He said the consultative meeting would help chart a roadmap for Vision 2025 to make TN number one in the country.The minister said that land acquisition won’t be a problem as the State is planning to have a land bank for industries.Additional Chief Secretary and chairperson and MD of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Susan Mathew said TIDCO is preparing a roadmap for energy, automative, heavy engineering, petroleum and petrochemicals, information technology, IT-enabled services, electronic hardware manufacturing and connectivity infrastructure.Industry Secretary N Sundaradevan stressed on the need to boost the manufacturing sector and develop skills while Confederation of Indian Industries chairman T T Ashok said that TN’s growth is below five per cent from 2005-2010 and there is need to compete with states such as Haryana and Gujarat to regain the number one status.He also highlighted the potential in healthcare, auto and automobile components, sunrise industries and aviation besides stressing on the need to boost infrastructure by improving the power scenario and laying out road network.Prabhat Singh, director of Gas Authority of India Limited, said that the State will be facing a shortage of 30 million cubic metres of gas per day in the next five years and the State and GAIL are working to bridge the shortfall. A M K Sinha, Indian Oil Corporation’s director of planning and business development, said `4,320-crore Ennore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project with TIDCO will be commissioned in 2016 and meet the shortfall of LNG.