In the event of a global recession, Tamil Nadu would be better buffered and protected than other states, said Finance Minister Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan.

“The final fiscal deficit account (difference between the government’s total expenditure and revenue) stands at 3.38% and is 0.5% lower than the centre’s. This year, too, we are on track to repeat a good performance. On the operational side, Tamil Nadu has jumped from the 14th position to the 3rd, under the ease of doing business category. In the past 18 months, our ranking has gone up in the electronics, textile, leather, and auto sectors,” the minister said. He was addressing the Tamil Nadu Finance Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday.

Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s uniqueness, Thiaga Rajan said that the state boasts of over 10,000 factories more than other states. “Further, people have greater purchasing power and TN is largely a self-contained economy compared to other states,” he said.

According to the finance minister, Tamil Nadu accounts for 15% of all the factories in the country and contains the most number of workers in the industry (2.2 million). “We were able to attract $10 billion in investments - especially foreign investments - in the past 15 months, thereby generating over two lakh jobs. This is a 40-45% increase from last year, which is a matter of pride,” he added.

Referring to MSMEs as the backbone of the economy, Thiaga Rajan pointed out the government has multiple initiatives to support MSMEs and had provided them with access to credit by talking to banks. “Though TN is above 100% as a credit-deposit state, with banks hitting their targets every year, they fall behind in the number of industries to be covered.” He added that banks were urged to use advanced technologies like FinTech to increase the number of clients.