Hours before Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa began her inaugural address of Tamil Nadu’s first-ever Global Investors Meet (GIM) at Chennai on Wednesday, entrepreneurs and investors had firmed up MoUs worth Rs 1,00,000 crore. Disclosing this in her address before nearly 1,000 foreign delegates and 4,000 domestic investors, Jayalalithaa said the GIM has exceeded the investment target of Rs 1,00,000 crore.
In a speech which eclipsed even the best marketing professionals, Jayalalithaa made a presentation which stood out for its clarity and articulation. She did not forget to compliment Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his innovative efforts for energising India. “The Prime Minister has spearheaded many recent initiatives to create a more investor-friendly climate and encourage more Foreign Direct Investment. This will also enthuse investors planning to invest in States,” pointed out Jayalalithaa.
Day one of the GIM itself turned out to be a grand success for Tamil Nadu, as two leading firms unveiled big plans for the State, which would see the creation of nearly 16,000 jobs. Yes Bank, a leading private sector bank, declared its plan to set up the National Centralised Operations Management and Services Delivery Facility in Chennai envisaged as the nerve centre of the bank’s operations in India. According to Rana Kapoor, the bank’s MD, the centre would create 12,000 new-generation financial services jobs over the next five years.
Yamaha India ltd, a leading two-wheeler manufacturer, got their Chennai plant inaugurated by Jayalalithaa minutes before the commencement of the GIM. The Rs 1,500-crore plant will employ 3,900 people and have the capacity to manufacture 1.8 million two-wheelers every year.
Even as Opposition parties, including the DMK, were questioning the necessity to host a Rs 100-crore meet like the GIM, Jayalalithaa explained with facts and figures why Tamil Nadu is the preferred location of investors and why entrepreneurs should set up their ventures in the State.
“My goal is to ensure that Tamil Nadu’s per capita income reaches that of, upper middle income countries by 2023. The people of this State must have access to infrastructure and services comparable to the best available anywhere in the world,” she said.
“Tamil Nadu will be a knowledge hub for innovation. Tamil Nadu will become the most attractive investment destination in India and one of the three most attractive in Asia. A total investment of $250 billion in infrastructure is planned. We are the second-largest State economy in India today. This has not been a fortuitous outcome. It is the fruit of my Government's vision, far-sighted policy making and effective implementation,” said the Chief Minister hard selling the State to the delegates which included the likes of Venu Srinivasan of TVS Group, Y C Deveshwar of the ITC, Anand Mahindra, Gautam Adani, Shiv Nadar and FICCI president Jyotsna Suri.
In a sporting gesture, Nirmala Sitharaman and Pon Radhakrishnan, the Union Ministers who represented the Centre, assured the Chief Minister that the Modi Government would extend all help and cooperation to her in her endeavours to make Tamil Nadu the number one State in the country.