writingonblog uncensored: Taiwan's Investment Map Expands Beyond Chennai

writingonblog uncensored: Taiwan's Investment Map Expands Beyond Chennai:   C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Taiwanese investors are looking beyond Chennai and Sriperumbudur's established industrial belt, with souther...

Taiwan's Investment Map Expands Beyond Chennai

 

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
Taiwanese investors are looking beyond Chennai and Sriperumbudur's established industrial belt, with southern Tamil Nadu emerging as a potential destination for the state's next phase of manufacturing expansion.

An eight-member Taiwan delegation that toured Tirunelveli SIPCOT and VOC Port in Thoothukudi earlier this June concluded that the region's logistics capacity has made it a potential site for the state's next wave of manufacturing clusters, particularly in green energy, electronics and electric vehicles, said Stephen S. C. Hsu, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in Chennai in an interview with The New Indian Express. Hsu, who has recently marked his first year in Chennai, described the recent visit mainly as “a fact-finding trip”.

The trip to the south reflects a wider recalibration of how Taiwanese enterprises view Tamil Nadu — less as a manufacturing destination and more as a strategic partner for high-tech investment. While footwear, textiles, machinery and electronics assembly remain established strengths in the north, investor appetite has shifted toward advanced manufacturing, semiconductor supply-chain components, EVs and green-energy infrastructure, Hsu said.

The southward pivot comes as bilateral trade accelerates. Taiwan-India trade volume reached 10.6 billion USD in 2024 and rose to a record 12.5 billion USD in 2025; from January this year till now, bilateral trade volumes have grown 30 per cent year-on-year, Hsu said. Over the next three to five years, TECC in Chennai expects fresh capital inflows as mid-tier technology suppliers relocate, generating high-skilled roles for local engineering graduates.

Tamil Nadu's pitch to investors rests on what Hsu termed a "holy trinity" of ports, industrial parks and workforce: direct maritime connectivity through Chennai Port and VOC Port cuts supply-chain transit times and cost, while SIPCOT's purpose-built infrastructure and a skilled labour pool round out the offer. Combined with a mature industrial ecosystem and supportive state policy, these give Tamil Nadu an edge over competing states, Hsu said. He highlighted his vision for the next decade- “Design from Taiwan, Make in Tamil Nadu”.

Keen to woo Taiwanese investments to Tamil Nadu, the director general looks forward to the meeting with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay along with Taiwan Chamber of Commerce soon. Highlighting the role played by Taiwan, he said there are more than 300 Taiwanese companies in India, and 75% are located in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, with the accumulated investment amount of 5.7 billion USD, and generating 214,000 jobs in India over the years, he said.

Challenges remain largely cultural rather than structural, centred on differences in working culture and operational practices between Taiwanese firms and local partners, according to Hsu.

A tripartite memorandum of understanding between the Chennai Institute of Technology, Taiwan's National Formosa University and industry group AGEM aims to build advanced semiconductor research capacity, with the goal of training local engineering students into global design engineers — a cohort Hsu called "ambassadors of innovation" in the Taiwan-India relationship.

To deepen the semiconductor and electronics ecosystem, the state should offer targeted incentives addressing what deep-tech investors need most: reliable water and power supply, a complete component supply chain, and high-skilled engineering talent, Hsu said.

TECC in Chennai is pushing for single-window regulatory clearances tailored to foreign SMEs, ready-built factory sheds within industrial parks, and tax waivers for the first 24 months of operation — measures it says would draw smaller Taiwanese suppliers into the state.

Hsu framed the relationship in geopolitical terms, describing Taiwan's New Southbound Policy as complementary to India's Act East Policy, and calling the current period of global supply-chain restructuring "a golden time" for Taiwanese firms considering a shift to India.

"Tamil Nadu is no longer just a potential destination; it is a proven launchpad for success," Hsu said, adding that the TECC in Chennai remains committed to working closely with the state government to guide Taiwanese companies "every step of the way."

writingonblog uncensored: Fishers say Chennai reservoir plan ignored Bay of ...

writingonblog uncensored: Fishers say Chennai reservoir plan ignored Bay of ...: CHENNAI: Fishing communities in the Kovalam sub-basin have accused Tamil Nadu's Water Resources Department (WRD) and IIT-Madras of overl...

Fishers say Chennai reservoir plan ignored Bay of Bengal storm-surge risk

CHENNAI:
Fishing communities in the Kovalam sub-basin have accused Tamil Nadu's Water Resources Department (WRD) and IIT-Madras of overlooking Bay of Bengal storm-surge dynamics in planning the Mamallan reservoir, a freshwater project proposed on the Uppankazhi salt marsh to supply Chennai.

Government-commissioned coastal inundation maps, prepared for an assumed 1.63-metre tidal surge under severe sea conditions, show that most of the proposed reservoir site would be submerged under 3.5 to 4.5 metres of seawater during a storm event — a scenario fishers say neither agency has assessed.

"We don't need a report to tell us what the sea does here," said R. Narayanan, a fisher from Kovalam. "Every spring tide, every monsoon, we watch this land become part of the sea. The bunds they are planning are not going to stop that."

The IIT-Madras technical evaluation, submitted to justify the project's exemption from the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, accounts only for freshwater inflows from the western catchment, treating the sea as an outlet for surplus water rather than a source of risk. It recommends direct outlets from the reservoir to the ocean — infrastructure that fishers warn could function as inlets for seawater during a surge.

Speaking to reporters, Dr Vishvaja Sambath of the Chennai Climate Action Group argued that the omission undermines the project's regulatory basis. "If the sea overtops the bunds, and it most likely will, then there is no freshwater reservoir left — only a great salt lake," she said. "If they have not studied the sea and tidal dynamics, then the CRZ clearance they have obtained is baseless and invalid."

K.V. Sudhakar, president of the Madras Naturalists Society, called on the state government to abandon the project, citing the marsh's ecological value. He said the site supports more than 135 dry-season species, including migratory birds, subcontinent endemics, IUCN Red List species, and those listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Campaigners further warned that enclosing the marsh would remove 4,375 acres of natural flood-holding capacity from the sub-basin, increasing seawater flood exposure for Thaiyur, Kelambakkam, Thiruvidanthai, Padur, Pattipulam, Saluvankuppam and Mamallapuram — all densely populated settlements along the coast.

The claims were raised at a press briefing organised by Save Nemmeli Marshlands.

Delta Electronics Plans Greenfield Data Centre

 

CHENNAI:
Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics has proposed a new testing and validation centre at its Krishnagiri campus in Tamil Nadu, as part of a broader push to expand its footprint in the state's energy and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Benjamin Lin, President of Delta Electronics India, and Niranjan Nayak, the unit's Managing Director, met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Friday to outline the plan and thank the state government for its support of the company's existing operations.

Delta already runs a large manufacturing facility in Krishnagiri, where an expansion is under consideration alongside the proposed greenfield project. The new facility, to be named ARIVAM — an acronym for AI Data Centre, Renewables, Integrated Micro Grid Solutions, Validated Engineering and Management Centre — would focus on the design, engineering, manufacturing and lifecycle management of sustainable AI data centres, renewable energy systems and integrated microgrids.

The company has asked to work with the state government across three areas: energy infrastructure and storage, AI data centre infrastructure, and smart manufacturing and industrial automation. The Chief Minister assured Delta of continued backing under the new administration.

The proposal builds on Delta's existing Krishnagiri campus, which the company positions as a reference site for Industry 4.0 manufacturing practices and a demonstration centre for advanced automation, a release stated.

Tamil Nadu forms panel, gives one-week deadline to probe disputed registration of Palani temple's land

Chennai:
Tamil Nadu's Commercial Taxes, Registration and Religious Endowments Department has formed a three-member inquiry committee and ordered it to submit its findings within a week, after a Palani Sub-Registrar registered 1.35 acres belonging to the Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamigal Madam despite a statutory bar on doing so.

The panel — the Additional Inspector General of Registration (Stamps & Registration), the Assistant Inspector General of Registration (Vigilance) and the District Registrar (Administration) of Namakkal — must establish how the registration went through. 

Its brief requires inspecting all records at the Sub-Registrar's and District Registrar's offices, reviewing video footage of the registration process itself, identifying any officials responsible, and recommending safeguards against a repeat — all within a week, an unusually tight timeline for a government probe.

The land, in Palani's third ward, was conveyed by an individual with no title to the property but who claimed authority under a will. A Sub-Registrar in Palani first refused to register the deed on April 1, citing a pending civil dispute — a refusal the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court quashed nine days later, ruling that a civil suit alone cannot justify denying registration unless a court has separately restrained the registering authority.

Acting on that order, the executant resubmitted the document on July 3. It was held pending initially, then registered three days later, on July 6, by a different Sub-Registrar on incharge duty that day — even as a writ appeal against the original High Court order remained undecided, and despite a letter four days earlier from the Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) flagging the land as temple property.

Officials say that is where the statutory breach occurred. Section 22-A(1)(ii) of the Registration Act, 1908 requires registering officers to refuse any instrument transferring property belonging to an institution governed by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, unless the transfer carries prior sanction from a competent authority. The Inspector General of Registration told the government that HR&CE had already confirmed the land's status before the deed was registered.
The GO was issued by J Kumaragurubaran, Secretary to Government, on Thursday.

writingonblog uncensored: TN resolves stamp duty ambiguity for restructured ...

writingonblog uncensored: TN resolves stamp duty ambiguity for restructured ...: CHENNAI: The Inspector General of Registration, Tamil Nadu, has resolved a lingering ambiguity over whether a decade-old stamp duty exemptio...

TN resolves stamp duty ambiguity for restructured power utilities

CHENNAI:
The Inspector General of Registration, Tamil Nadu, has resolved a lingering ambiguity over whether a decade-old stamp duty exemption applies to the successor entities of the state's power distribution utility, following its 2024 restructuring. 

A circular issued on Wednesday confirms that Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) and Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation Limited (TNPGCL) will retain the exemption, invoking Section 8G of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, which waives stamp duty on property transfers by government entities in cases of strategic sales, disinvestment, demergers or liquidation.

The exemption traces back to a 2012 government order that waived stamp duty and registration fees on gift deeds through which private developers, typically applicants for group housing or commercial complex approvals, transfer land to the utility for building electricity substations. That order applied specifically to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), the entity's name before restructuring.

The ambiguity arose after TANGEDCO's corporate split, notified in the Tamil Nadu government gazette in August 2024, under which the utility was trifurcated into wholly owned subsidiaries of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Ltd. TNPDCL took over the renamed distribution, billing and customer support functions, while TNPGCL was carved out to handle fossil-fuel and gas-based power generation. With TANGEDCO's original legal identity dissolved, registering officers had no explicit guidance on whether gift deeds in favour of the new entities still qualified for the tax concession.

The circular settles the question. It notes that TNPDCL and TNPGCL were formally declared "government companies" under the Companies Act, 2013, via a gazette notification in March 2024 — a status that underpins their continued eligibility for the exemption under Section 8G.

The office of the Inspector General has directed all district registrars and sub-registrars across the state to apply the updated guidance when processing gift deed registrations in favour of the two companies.

writingonblog uncensored: Tamil Nadu's elderly population to nearly double b...

writingonblog uncensored: Tamil Nadu's elderly population to nearly double b...: Expert suggests  strengthening revenues, improve expenditure efficiency C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu's rapid demographic transiti...

Tamil Nadu's elderly population to nearly double by 2031, raising fiscal concerns

Expert suggests strengthening revenues, improve expenditure efficiency

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
Tamil Nadu's rapid demographic transition is emerging as one of the state's biggest long-term fiscal challenges, with the share of elderly citizens projected to nearly double over the next decade even as public finances remain under pressure, according to a government white paper released by the state.

The population aged 60 and above is expected to rise from 10.6 per cent in 2011 to 18.2 per cent by 2031 — a 71.7 percent increase, the steepest among comparable large states. Kerala, long regarded as India's demographic frontrunner, is projected to record a slower increase of 64.6 per cent, while the national average stands at 56 per cent.

The figures point to what economists describe as a "scissors effect". As the working-age population begins to shrink, growth in tax revenues slows. The two trends move in opposite directions, steadily widening the gap between revenue growth and expenditure commitments.

The white paper states that Tamil Nadu's challenge is, in many ways, the consequence of its own developmental success. Fertility rates fell faster than in most Indian states, life expectancy rose sharply, and the state enjoyed decades of economic gains from a large working-age population. Tamil Nadu's median age has now reached 34.25 years, nearly a decade higher than that of Uttar Pradesh.

The state's working-age population peaked at around 66.4 per cent in 2021 and is projected to decline to 63.6 per cent by 2036. Over the same period, the old-age dependency ratio — the number of elderly people for every 100 working-age adults — is expected to rise from 20.6 to 32.7, one of the sharpest increases among Indian states.

"Ageing is a cause for concern," said K Shanmugham, economist and former director of the Madras School of Economics. This would result in the state spending a lot of money on welfare measures for elderly and the funds need to be increased. He also highlighted the lack of updated data since the 2011 census.

"For decades, Tamil Nadu benefited from a demographic dividend, with a large and expanding workforce supporting economic growth, tax revenues and consumption," said former bureaucrat Chandra Kant Kamble. "As populations age, fiscal priorities inevitably shift. Pension obligations rise, healthcare spending increases, and governments must invest more in chronic disease management, geriatric care and long-term social support. At the same time, the growth of the working-age population slows, limiting the expansion of the tax base."

The white paper cites international experience, including that of Japan and Canada, to illustrate how healthcare and social security costs accelerate as populations age. What makes Tamil Nadu vulnerable is the speed of this demographic transition against a backdrop of already strained public finances.

While the white paper does not prescribe specific remedies, Kamble said the fiscal impact of ageing will emerge gradually, giving Tamil Nadu a limited opportunity to act before demographic pressures intensify. The state's economic dynamism, industrial strength and relatively robust revenue mobilisation provide a foundation for undertaking structural reforms from a position of strength.

He stressed that the challenge is not welfare spending itself, but ensuring that expanding commitments remain sustainable. As the elderly population grows, the government will need to strengthen revenues, improve expenditure efficiency and periodically assess the effectiveness of welfare programmes. Such measures, he said, can help bridge the gap between rising age-related spending and mounting debt obligations.

EOM