Chennai: “Tamil Nadu, with its vast industrial base, hosting 18% of the country’s institutions of higher learning and quality of living, is the best investment destination in India, today”, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami told a group of British MPs in London on Friday.
On a trip to the UK to woo investors to Tamil Nadu, he said Frost & Sullivan published a ranking of Indian States in 2018 which showed TN at the second position in overall performance and ranking first in investment potential.
Also, the Public Affairs Index 2018, published by the Bengaluru-based Public Affairs Centre, recognised Tamil Nadu as the second best governed state in the country, he told the British MPs.
Stressing that Tamil Nadu is a front runner among Indian States in various health indicators, he said, “Our policy interventions, introduction of several novel schemes and increased funding played an important role in the State’s improved health outcomes”. The state has already the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the United Nations and it is poised to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in the Health Sector, ahead of 2030, he said.
“My Government is implementing a massive Insurance scheme for 15.8 million families at an annual cost of 140 million US Dollars for giving free medical treatment which includes 1,027 medical procedures”, said CM Palaniswami, adding that there were several health programmes focusing on women and children. Primary health centres provide 24 hours delivery care services and Tamil Nadu is one of the few states in India, where institutional delivery is almost 100 per cent.
The CM said Tamil Nadu has the highest per capita availability of doctors and qualified health care professionals in India.
The doctors and nurses from Tamil Nadu contribute immensely to NHS. “We have learnt the expertise available in UK and will be upgrading our health care delivery systems to better standards”, he said.
He said the Global Investors Meet, 2019 attracted investors from all over the world and 304 MoUs were signed pledging projects worth over 43 billion US Dollars. The state's main exports include automobiles and auto-parts, textiles, leather products and electronic goods, the CM said, adding that to take TN to the next level, the government has taken several steps, such as “a state-supported 'Alternative Investment Fund' to facilitate investment by global investors, in the area of economic infrastructure”.
Other similar initiatives include setting up of a 'Social Impact Fund (with seed capital from the State, World Bank and Asian Development Bank) to fund affordable housing for the lower income groups and vulnerable sections of society; a bio-technology fund to help promote the sunrise industry in India; these funds to be managed by an independent Fund Manager, where the State has a minority equity holding so as to ensure its independence and professionalism, the CM elaborated while exhorting the British MPs to collaborate in creating “a new paradigm for funding green energy, water, urban infrastructure and affordable housing.
