TN Industrial Policy targets to move state's manufacturing base up the value chain

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:

 
The state is targeting a $1.5 trillion economy by 2036, built around one, three, five and ten-year milestones rather than a straight-line growth projection, according to Industries, Investment Promotion & Commerce Department officials familiar with the drafting process. Growth rates are expected to vary across the phases before converging on that goal. Officials added that the document is getting shaped less by fixed targets than by a "direction of travel," with stakeholder consultations across industry still under way.

 

Asked how the approach differs from the previous government's 2021 industrial policy, officials declined to draw a direct comparison, saying only that the new policy is designed to be "built with people at its centre," with a goal of a sustainable increase in the state's per capita income. Industries Minister S Keerthana said, "Every policy we make is ultimately about improving the lives of the people of Tamil Nadu. Economic growth is a means to that end — creating better jobs, higher incomes, and greater opportunities and prosperity for every family,” the minister told TNIE.

 

Officials point to policy stability regardless of which party holds power, established infrastructure, a skilled workforce, immediate land availability and incentives. The new policy is designed to match or exceed states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh, all of which are competing for the same large manufacturing investments.

 

The secondary sector contributed 33.8 per cent of Tamil Nadu's gross state value added, of which manufacturing with 18.62% already accounts for a significant share of the state's output — figures officials cite as evidence the state ranks first or second nationally across most manufacturing sectors. Specific targets for manufacturing's share of GSDP and exports remain under deliberation, though officials say the direction is toward growing both manufacturing-led exports and the services sector in parallel.

 

Sustainability and circular-economy practices will be "core" to the policy, officials said, though they did not specify carbon-reduction targets or timelines. Tamil Nadu's pitch rests on continuity and readiness. On process, the government has committed to a 21-day deadline for single-window clearances and is developing an investor grievance portal to give companies a formal channel to raise concerns — part of a broader push, officials say, to address complaints raised in consultations over land availability, logistics, power reliability and regulatory approvals.

 

Officials also flagged plans for "model" industrial parks with plug-and-play capability, to be piloted in select locations, alongside industrial townships intended to offer the fuller range of facilities foreign investors expect. The policy will also lean toward decentralised, district-level industrial hubs built around regional strengths, in an explicit effort to bring jobs closer to people rather than driving migration toward Chennai.

 

Tamil Nadu has the highest number of registered small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of any Indian state. Officials said the policy would support their integration into global value chains, without detailing specific mechanisms. On the balance between domestic and foreign capital, officials framed the test as employment and benefit to the state's residents rather than the origin of investment.

 

P Ravichandran, Chairman, CII Southern Region and President of Danfoss India said the state’s GSDP will need to expand by 3.5 to 3.8 times from current levels to achieve the $1.5 trillion economy target, implying a sustained compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12-13 per cent over the next decade.

Factfile
1. Tamil Nadu's outgoing Industrial Policy 2021 was built around five-year investment and jobs targets. The draft policy now taking shape is being framed for five  years but it will be made keeping in mind the long term (10 years)horizon.

2. The 2021 policy targeted ₹10 lakh crore ($135bn) in investment between 2021 and 2025 and 20 lakh jobs by the same deadline. The new draft policy is being anchored to a $1.5tn state economy within ten years — implying a 12-13 per cent compound annual growth rate, well above the 10-11 per cent Tamil Nadu has sustained over the past eight years.

3. The 2021 policy leaned on automobiles, electronics, renewables and — added later — semiconductors as sunrise sectors. Consultations for the new policy have foregrounded life sciences, rare earths, defence, semiconductors and chemicals.

4. The 2021 policy followed the standard pattern of government drafting with industry input. The new draft policy has been shaped through structured stakeholder surveys with sector associations.

5. The 2021 centred on fiscal incentives — stamp duty concessions, electricity tax breaks, SGST refunds — early signals suggest the new draft policy will fill focus on the digital single-window portal and cutting clearances timelines along with incentives.

6. The new draft policy is also expected to push for more balanced growth across the state, rather than concentration in established industrial belts. This points to a regional blueprint identifying each area's comparative strengths and outlining how they can be built up to compete globally.

7. Research and development is set to receive greater emphasis, with plans to replicate the IIT Madras Research Park model in other parts of the state under the new draft policy. The 2021 policy referenced the IIT-M Research Park as a flagship innovation hub largely concentrated around Chennai; the new draft policy signals an intent to decentralise that model, building similar R&D and innovation clusters closer to emerging industrial regions.

8. The 2021 policy's township provisions were framed largely around industrial infrastructure. The new draft policy is expected to extend that focus towards quality of life, with plans for two to three model industrial townships designed around improved living standards for the workforce, rather than industrial facilities alone.