Around 64% of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed during the first edition of the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) 2015 and 30% of MoUs inked at the second GIM in 2019 with the Industries Department have fructified till date.
A total of 98 MoUs, with an investment of ₹2,42,160 crore, were inked at the GIM in 2015, in the presence of the then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
Data provided by Guidance Tamil Nadu shows that of this, 50 were with the Industries Department, of which 32 firms have commenced commercial production and 12 are still under the implementation stage. Six projects worth ₹11,700 crore, signed in 2015, have been dropped for various reasons. The firms that scrapped the MoUs are SPEL Semi Conductor Limited (₹500 crore), Janar Resources SDN BHD (₹700 crore), SPIC (₹6,000 crore), MPL (₹500 crore), Realify Properties (₹300 crore) and Gopio integrated industrial township (₹3,700 crore). The six firms had given a commitment to hire over 36,600 people.
The second GIM, hosted at the Chennai Trade Centre by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami-led government in January, 2019, managed to bring in 147 MoUs to the Industries Department, entailing investments to the tune of ₹1,55,248 crore. And of this, only 30% have commenced commercial production. While 86 deals are still under various stages of implementation, six are yet to commence.
Three projects signed during the 2019 GIM by Anuradha Cotton Mills (₹45.30 crore), Moham Technopark Ltd (₹150 crore) and RPP Blue Metals (₹40 crore) have been dropped. Another eight deals, including an MoU worth ₹12,000 crore by Jasan Infra Pvt Ltd., have been put on hold.
When asked for reasons for projects being dropped or not being started yet, Guidance Tamil Nadu said, “Details like project-wise investment and employment made so far and reasons why the project has not started/commenced, etc., cannot be provided as per Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, 2005, which states that there shall be no obligation to give any citizen.”
Apart from the Industries Department, MoUs were also signed with other departments including Information Technology, Agriculture, Energy, Housing, Tourism and MSME, among others.
