Jaya sets double digit growth goal

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Chief minister J. Jayalalithaa has exuded confidence that her government would be able to achieve double-digit growth rate for Tamil Nadu in the next five years and even exceed the national average growth figures. She sought the participation of private investors in achieving her mission.

Speaking at the FICCI national executive committee meeting here on Monday, Ms Jayalalithaa said in 2005-06 (when she was the CM), the state clocked an overall growth rate of 13.3 per cent, which dipped in the subsequent years. “I am very confident of repeating double-digit growth rates in the next five years”, she said.

Quoting the twelfth five-year plan that indicates an ambitious growth target of 9-9.5 per cent with 11-12 per cent growth for industry, the chief minister said, “My government is aiming to exceed the national average growth rates and make Tamil Nadu grow faster than the rest of India.”

Acknowledging that judicious spending on infrastructure bore a high correlation to economic development, she assured the industry captains that her government “has rightly recognised the need to develop infrastructure facilities, concentrating on major areas like roads and power”.

“To make this feasible, my government invites public-private partnerships”, she said.

Allaying fears on the power front, Ms Jayalalithaa said, “By the end of 2012, the capacity addition will be 4,640 MW and during the next five years, a massive capacity addition of 23,140 MW”.

Promising a slew of investor-friendly industrial policies, she said, “To revitalise our manufacturing sector, my government is committed to launching a package of second generation reforms.”

Appealing to the CM to take a lenient view about GST, Ficci president Harsh C. Mariwala assured that the transparent tax system will bring in revenues to all stakeholders and asked her to “try and work out something based on consensus and be flexible on this”.