Tamil Nadu   

Contract labour needed in export-oriented industries

Staff Reporter

FICCI provides inputs for the State Government's new industrial policy

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Government has started formulating a new industrial policy, as part of which it received suggestions from the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Monday, including one for single window clearance for investors.

Briefing presspersons after a presentation made to senior officials, including the Chief Secretary and the Industry Secretary, FICCI leaders emphasised the need for the Centre to allow contract labour in export-oriented industries such as textiles and leather.

It would benefit industries, whose export orders were seasonal and fetch fresh investments.

Noting that the suggestions were made for the cement, sugar, textiles, leather, agri-business and food processing and chemicals and fertilisers industries, P. Murari, Adviser to the FICCI president, said that while providing the single window clearance, care should be taken to avoid having "several windows within that [single window]."

A high-power committee for evolving a five-year plan for creating infrastructure, granting statutory clearance for mega projects and monitoring implementation was also recommended.

For the textile industry, he said, the State should bring more areas under cotton, because the consumption is 70 lakh bales while the growth is only 3.5 lakh bales. Cotton imports are expensive. The State Government should offer training facilities and innovative incentives to attract new generation labour.

`Allow new tanneries'

FICCI Tamil Nadu council chairman M. Rafeeque Ahmed said that restriction on setting up new tanneries should be lifted by allowing facilities that meet pollution control norms. The State should develop leather parks at Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Ranipet, Dindigul and Erode, improve infrastructure in the existing clusters and expedite the leather Special Economic Zone at Irungattukottai, besides refunding long-pending export and special subsidies.

The initiatives required for the cement industry included maximising supply of fly ash, exploring new limestone sources and promoting clinker grinding. The Centre should remove import duty on coal and reduce port levies.

The suggestions for the agri-business and food processing industry, detailed by FICCI member Jitendra Goenka, included grant of a capital subsidy of 10 per cent over and above the Central Government subsidy, concession in power tariff for cold storage and floriculture and stamp duty exemption for food parks, bio-tech parks and SEZs.

For the sugar industry, industry-friendly procedures for easy movement of molasses and alcohol, encouraging production of ethanol and cogeneration and reduction of sales tax on molasses were essential.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Arbitration best option to resolve commercial disputes: former judge
Learning English
Seats restored to reporters
Man kills wife, children, commits suicide
Contract labour needed in export-oriented industries
Trieste award for mathematician
More awareness on learning disorders
Court allows JIPMER student to attend classes
"Allocate all PDS exercises to Co-operative Department"
26 villagers return from Lebanon
Farmers complain against dyers, tanners
Gobichettipalayam to get a facelift
Briefly

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu