CHENNAI: In a bid to promote Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) by positioning the State as a preferred investment destination by providing streamlined, transparent and time-bound regulatory approval mechanisms, Tamil Nadu's Industries Minister S Keerthana on Wednesday tabled a bill on the state assembly to create Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Commission.
The commission will be chaired by the state's chief secretary which will put 22 state laws under new investment facilitation framework. These include range of laws from forest and land legislation to town planning, fire safety, public health and urban local-body acts.
The bill, which will amend The Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation (Amendment) Act, 2026, will provide commission to mandate "large, strategic and high-impact" investments. This includes projects worth Rs 200 crore or more, those expected to create at least 5,000 jobs, ventures tied to free-trade agreements, and investments by the Tamil diaspora.
Apart from the Chief secretary, the commission will have industries secretary serving as member-convener and up to 20 other appointed members. of these, five investment or industry experts can be invited to meetings as special invitees.
The move marks a shift from the advisory single-window bodies that have handled investor approvals in Tamil Nadu since 2018. According to the bill, the commission's directions to the state's various nodal agencies, single-window committees and departments "shall be binding."
The commission will also be tasked with reviewing land alloted for Industrial use that remains undeveloped. It will also examine the use of industrial land allotted by tate Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT), the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO), the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation (TAHDCO), and the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT), among other state agencies.
The legislation also seeks to put a tighter clock on regulatory approvals. Where state laws or subordinate legislation provide more than 21 days — or no deadline at all — for a clearance, the approval period will generally be deemed to be reduced to 21 days. The provision will not override a longer deadline prescribed under a Central law.