A plainspeak on SEZ

Sunday December 24 2006 11:18 IST
CHENNAI: Chief Secretary L K Tripathy on Saturday did some plainspeak,
favouring the Special Economic Zones being created in Tamil Nadu,
without actually mentioning SEZ.

Pointing out the present position of Tamil Nadu in seeking water from
its neighbours for carrying out agricultural works, he said the
workforce should be trained in skills suited for manufacturing sector.

Addressing a press conference on Value Added Tax (VAT), Tripathy said,
“A shift has to be there. It is good if it is done by a policy measure.
We have to facilitate manufacturing whether it is for exporting or for
local consumption.”.

However, he said the farm sector would continue to be the priority of
the State Government and recently, it had sought a World Bank assistance
for agriculture schemes.

Explaining the reasons for his view, Tripathy said in Tamil Nadu 60
percent of the people were depending on agriculture for their livelihood
but the farm sector contributed merely 13.95 percent to the Gross State
Domestic Product.

Contrary to this, the manufacturing sector share in GSDP was 30 percent,
while the marginally represented Service Sector provided a major portion
- 56 percent.

Finance Secretary K Gnanadesikan said Tamil Nadu was a major exporting
State and ST paid for exports was being refunded only to boost the
exports. Even now, EPZ and EOU were functioning, which enjoyed special
tax concessions.
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE920061224005657&Title=Chennai&rLink=0