Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has said the economic activities have been gradually opening up after the Covid-19 pandemic which woulld ensure that normalcy returns at the earliest to transform Tamilnadu as the “Innovation Hub and Knowledge Capital’ of the country”.
Speaking at the valedictory of Connect-2020 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, he said “we are all aware that the world is going through a severe economic crisis due to Covid pandemic.”
Stating that his government was working tirelessly in the fight against Covid which was evident in the number of cases and the falling mortality rate, he said this was made possible by increasing the number of tests and conducting various awareness campaigns across the State.
“We have been gradually opening up the economic activities which will ensure that Tamilnadu returns to normalcy at the earliest”, he added.
He said the aim of his government was to transform Tamilnadu as the “Innovation Hub and Knowledge Capital” of the country through creation of world class institutions in various fields and by utilizing the human talent available in the State.
“To achieve this, the State has been effectively leveraging the IT-skills of its human resources to match the growing demand of the skilled workforce”, he added.
“It is our endeavour to work with the industry in addressing and resolving all the issues impacting the economic and the industrial growth of the State”, the Chief Minister said.
Despite the pandemic, Palaniswami said, the State has been attracting foreign investments and recalled that 81 projects, signed during the Global Investors Meet-2019 have commenced commercial production, while another 191 were under various stages of implementation.
Subsequent to the GIM 2019, the State has also attracted 63 projects, including those that have taken shape during his visit to USA and UAE with an investment of Rs 19,000 crore, which would create 83,300 jobs.
“Even during Covid lockdown period, we have signed 42 MoUs, involving an investment of Rs 31,464 crore, with a potential to create 69,712 jobs”, he said.