An executive summary of the performance of the various departments of the state edited from monologues produced by the government. Jayanthi Raghunathan and Dr. Narayanan provide a walk through. It’s an indication of how Tamil Nadu is gearing for the future.
AGRICULTURE – YIELD ABOVE THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
Minister – R Doraikkannu
Agriculture is the major employer in Tamil Nadu accounting for 65 per cent of the rural population. The state excels in crop production like maize, cumbu, groundnut, oilseeds, rice and others.
The intense attention on area convergence and innovative agricultural practices in the sector secured a commendable performance in foodgrain production during 2017-18. The yield in Tamil Nadu is higher than the national average yield.
Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation (TN-IAM) Project funded by the World Bank aims to enhance productivity, improve water management and increase market opportunities to farmers. Tamil Nadu is a pioneer state in delivering agricultural information services to the farming community.
COMMERCIAL TAXES AND REGISTRATION – CONTRIBUTING TO TWO-THIRDS OF STATE’S REVENUE
Minister – K C Veeramani
The Commercial Taxes Department contributes to 2/3rd of state’s revenue. The revenue collected has been on the rise for the past few years and it stands at Rs 73,148.28 crore for 2017-18. This is 10.51 per cent growth over the previous year. The Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, tops the list of Act-wise tax revenue collection and is followed by Central Sales Tax and Entry Tax Act on Vehicles and Goods.
The Department has four wings: Assessment, Audit, Appellate and Enforcement. There are 334 assessment circles in the state. This department accounts for 60 per cent of the taxes collected from large tax-payers units.
CO-OPERATION, FOOD AND CONSUMER PROTECTION – FOCUSSING ON UPLIFTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
Ministers – R Kamaraj and Sellur K Raju
Tamil Nadu has a long history of the co-operative movement. It plays a crucial role in socio-economic development and in the upliftment of the poor. The department helps to connect with farmers directly and distributes essential commodities through the Public Distribution System.
Tractor loans, crop loans to farmers (at 7 per cent interest), drip irrigation loans, poultry loans, etc., are a few supported cooperative loans. Products produced by tribal people like honey, samai, varagu, tamarind, etc. are marketed through the Co-operative Marketing Societies.
The Co-operative Credit Structure is a vital credit delivery system that provides short term and long-term credit through the Tamil Nadu State Apex Co-operative Bank, 23 Central Co-operative Banks and 4462 Primary Agricultural Co-operative Credit Societies.
ENERGY – POWERING THE STATE, THE GREENWAY
Minister – P Thangamani
The power sector of Tamil Nadu is one of the most diversified in the country. The Energy Policy of the State addresses Energy Security, Economic Growth and Environmental Protection. Tamil Nadu is a leader in the Renewable Energy sector and has a total installed capacity of 11,113 MW. The state has harnessed 13,000 million units of wind energy and 2905 million units of solar energy during 2017-18. By way of harnessing the green energy, about 5406 million tonnes of carbon emission has been reduced.
Tamil Nadu has witnessed surplus power in 2017-18 and has also taken steps to meet the future power demand. The state will soon be adding 2500 MW of hydel power projects and 13,000 MW of thermal power projects. 2017-18 has proven to be the year of solar energy as 336.60 MW of capacity got added.
FINANCE – A PRUDENT FISCAL ECONOMY
Minister – O Panneerselvam
The finance department works to allocates funds for on-going schemes and keeps a reserve for future developmental projects.
The Total Revenue Receipts of the state including the Central Transfers, are estimated to be Rs 1,76,251 crore in 2018-19. The state’s own tax revenue is expected to be Rs.98,693 crore in the revised estimates for 2017-18. The revenue expenditure during 2018-19 is estimated at Rs.1,93,742 crore which shows a growth of 11.22 per cent over revised estimates 2017-18. Of this, the allocation for salaries is Rs.52,171 crore, for pensions and other retirement benefits is Rs.25,362 crore and for subsidies and grants, Rs.75,723 crore.
HANDLOOMS, HANDICRAFTS, TEXTILES AND KHADI – WHERE TRADITION MEETS FASHION
Ministers – O S Manian and G Baskaran
The textile industry in Tamil Nadu has a wide spread of products for both domestic and overseas markets. It contributes 10 per cent to manufacturing, 2 per cent to GDP and 13 per cent to export earnings.
The department ensures the availability of raw materials, augments production of yarn and fabrics and promotes the sale of end products.
Co-optex is the largest apex handloom cooperative society. Innovative schemes are implemented to develop products that combine tradition and fashion. Co-optex registered an online sales of Rs 102 crore in 2017-18. It aims to achieve a target sale of Rs 340 crore by introducing new products and modernisation of the showrooms.
HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE – A ROLE MODEL
Minister – Dr C Vijaya Baskar
Tamil Nadu pioneered several healthcare schemes, which have enabled the state to be at the top three in the “Healthy State Progressive India,” report brought out by the NITI Aayog. It has won the best state award in organ transplantation for three consecutive years. Pioneering schemes such as Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme, Birth Companion Programme, Amma Baby Care Kit, Amma Arogya Thittam, Amma Whole Body Check-up and Amma Magaperu Sanjeev are a few noteworthy ones that have made the state stand apart.
The state has steady health indicators. Infant Mortality Rate was 24 in 2010, and this has been reduced to 17 per 1000 live births in 2016. The Maternal Mortality Ratio which was 90 in 2010-12, has been reduced to 62 in 2016-17. The current Total Fertility Rate is 1.6 and is the lowest in India.
Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme was introduced in 2012. During the five years of implementation, 17.30 lakh persons benefitted. Out of this, 6.93 lakh beneficiaries were treated in Government Hospitals.
HIGHER EDUCATION – A FORERUNNER
Minister – K P Anbalagan
In the last six years, the state government has established 21 Government Arts and Science Colleges, 16 Government Polytechnic Colleges, 4 Government Engineering Colleges and 24 University Constituent Colleges.
Tamil Nadu has carved a niche for itself in the National Institutional Ranking Framework 2017 of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India (MHRD-NIRF). Eight State Universities coming under the administrative control of this Department have secured positions in the top 100 Universities’ ranking. These state universities have scaled benchmarks in quality in addition to complying with 5 NIRF ranking parameters –teaching, learning and resources, research and professional practice, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity and perception. It is noteworthy that 37 colleges in the state are among the top 100 colleges in MHRD-NIRF.
HIGHWAYS AND MINOR PORTS – THE BACKBONE FOR INDUSTRIES
Minister – Edappadi K Palaniswami
Tamil Nadu has a diversified manufacturing sector and is among the leading states in several sectors like automobiles, engineering, textiles, leather products, chemicals and plastics. The logistics infrastructure is supported by 2,53,510 km road network which includes 63,650 km of national highways, state highways, major district roads and other district roads, three major ports, 19 minor ports, four international and three domestic airports. Besides, there is an extensive rail network further augmented by sub-urban and metro train facilitates for the commuters.
Passenger traffic is forecasted to grow annually at 12–15 per cent for the next five years and freight traffic at 15–18 per cent. This has created an increased demand for more and better road infrastructure.
INDUSTRIES – THE GROWTH ENGINE
Minister – M C Sampath
The Annual Survey of Industries shows that Tamil Nadu remains one of the best performing states in the factory sector. Tamil Nadu with a share of 16.01 per cent is ranked first in terms of the number of factories and the number of persons employed with a share of 16.24 per cent.
The state is ranked third in terms of invested capital in factories with a share of 8.92 per cent and industrial output with a share of 10.19 per cent. Based on Frost & Sullivan report on Ranking of States, the state is ranked second in 2017. Tamil Nadu also ranks number 1 in terms of operational SEZs; the number of notified and exporting SEZ are 37. The state is ranked 4th in terms of FDI in-flows during 2017 and remains among the most preferred investment destinations.
During May 2011-17, the state has attracted Rs.1,18,099 crore as FDI as against Rs.33,024 crore FDI attracted during previous 11 years during April 2000-11.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY – RIDING THE INFORMATION WAVE
Minister – Dr M Manikandan
The IT revolution sweeping across the world triggers equitable growth and provides access to all sections of society. In line with this, Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd. (ELCOT) has established a 90 seater Start-up Warehouse at Tidel Park, Chennai to support the growth. E-Governance is a crucial catalyst in narrowing the digital divide and augmenting IT adoption in government. Open Government Data (OGD) will be implemented in government departments for sharing data pertaining to government welfare schemes.
Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance provides a unified approach where the citizen can install a single application to avail multiple government services.
The ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu focuses on providing training to the next generation teachers and industry-ready students. Its activities cover facility development, skill development, entrepreneurship development programmes, youth empowerment, research and publications, digital empowerment and industry and institute interactions.
MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES – SMALL YET BIG…
Minister – P Benjamin
MSMEs in Tamil Nadu have recorded a phenomenal growth. MSMEs produce a wide variety of products in almost all sectors. In 2017-18, Tamil Nadu had 2,17,981 registered MSMEs with an investment of Rs 25,373 crore providing employment to 13,78,544.
The state provides a lot of incentives for the MSMEs to thrive and grow. SIDCO extends marketing assistance and supplies raw materials to MSMEs. During 2017-18, the corporation earned a profit of Rs 8.89 crore and paid a dividend of Rs 2.47 crore to the government.
The government also offers diploma courses for improving technical skills in relevant fields. These include in tool and dye, refrigeration and cooling, tool engineering, ceramic technology and scientific glass training. A new thrust area on women technoprenuership has been initiated. This is to enable technically educated women to take-up entrepreneurship in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Towards this, the institute has signed a MoA with the Golden Jubilee Women Biotech Park.
MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION AND WATER SUPPLY – SMART CITIES COMING SOON…
Minister – S P Velumani
Tamil Nadu ranks first in urbanised states with 48 per cent. To tackle the growing urban population, several infrastructure projects are taken up by corporations and municipalities.
Smart Cities Mission aims to use information and communication technologies and other means to improve the quality of life, efficiency of urban operations, services and competitiveness. Tamil Nadu has 11 cities that are part of the smart city project. The implementation of the mission is done by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) set up at city-level in the form of a limited company and are promoted by the state and the urban local body (ULB) jointly both having 50:50 equity shareholding. Under the scheme, each city is to get Rs 500 crore as Central assistance and Rs 500 crore as state grant for implementing various projects. A total investment of Rs 11,394 crore has been proposed for these cities.
PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIAL INITIATIVES – HELPING TO STAY AHEAD
Minister – O Panneerselvam
This is the nodal department of the state which interacts with the NITI Aayog. The department performs several functions to coordinate new initiatives of Government. It also takes up promotion, design and implementation of projects through the Tamil Nadu Innovation Initiatives and application of Geographic Information Systems and evidencebased policy-making initiatives. Further, the Special Initiatives Wing oversees the Chennai Metro Rail Project and specific new individual efforts to speed up the progress of critical infr structure and development projects.
SCHOOL EDUCATION – FOR A STRONGER BASE
Minister – Sengottaiyan K A
Committed to providing ‘quality education for all,’ the Tamil Nadu government has made the highest allocation of Rs 27,206 crore in the 2018-19 budget to school education.
With the introduction of the trimester system, the burden of textbooks on the school students has been substantially reduced. Teachers and students are able to access the digital content with the help of QR Codes; this has been piloted in 16 schools, in 3 districts(Chennai, Kancheepuram and Coimbatore).
A team of 25 best performing students from government and government-aided schools is selected for an educational tour outside the country. For 2017-18, a sum of Rs 3 crore was sanctioned towards this innovative scheme.
TOURISM, CULTURE AND RELIGIOUS ENDOWMENTS – UNIQUE ENDOWMENTS
Ministers – Vellamandi N Natarajan and Sevvoorr S Ramachandran
Tamil Nadu has been ranked first in both domestic and foreign tourist arrivals.
Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) provides the needed infrastructure in all the major tourist destinations. It has earned the distinction of being the first State Tourism Corporation to introduce online booking of tours and hotels. TTDC has also made tie-ups with makemytrip.com, yatra.com and travelguru.com for online booking.
The extensive network of roads, railway and airline services provide easy access to the tourist destinations. The innovative activities and strategies to promote tourism make the state most preferred national and international tourism destination.
TRANSPORT – MEGA MOBILITY
Minister – M R Vijayabhaskar
Tamil Nadu has a robust bus transport system mainly provided by the State transport undertakings. STUs have fleet strength of 21,744 buses.
Ten performance indicators have shown positive improvements of the STUs: the fuel efficiency has increased to 5.33 KMPL during March 2018 and life of a tyre had risen to 2.22 lakh km in March 2018.
The Transport Department plans to replace 12,000 buses of which about 2000 would be electric buses. This would make Tamil Nadu one of the largest electric bus operating regions outside China.
MTC is working with the Chennai Metro Rail to introduce an integrated fare/universal card that would make payment across the bus and rail system much simpler.
