Chennai, Sept 23:
The Tamil Nadu Governor has given assent to an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act, paving the way for time-bound processing of approvals for major investment projects, with the amended legislation now notified in the government gazette.
The amendment provides for the establishment of the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Authority to monitor major and strategically important investment projects and facilitate their implementation. The Chief Secretary will head the authority, while the Secretary in charge of Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce will function as its member-convener. The State Government can also appoint up to 20 members to the authority in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
The authority will monitor projects involving capital investments of Rs 200 crore or more, projects expected to generate at least 5,000 jobs, investments linked to free trade agreements and investments by people of Tamil origin living outside India.
The monitoring mechanism will cover projects from the pre-implementation stage until commercial production or operations commence. The authority will also have powers to issue directions to government departments to ensure that necessary approvals, incentives and other clearances are provided within the prescribed timeframe.
The amendment is aimed at streamlining the investment approval process and reducing delays faced by investors in obtaining clearances from different departments. The government expects the new institutional mechanism to provide greater coordination among departments and help major projects move from proposal to implementation more efficiently.