PUDUCHERRY: With Puducherry scoring low on ease of doing business (EDB), the CII Puducherry urged the government to focus on EDB by introducing policy-level changes across all 11 to 12 departments. The group also recommended an external consultant to work with the Industries Department for development in the UT.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, CII Chairman S Surender and Vice Chairman A Joseph Rozario said that a consultant would be in a better position to consider the complexities of the ranking index, as Puducherry attempts to attract industrial investment for employment.
"Puducherry has surplus power of 35 MW and the government will be getting another 100 MW from NLC. But a good system is necessary for quality power distribution to address unscheduled power cuts," the chairman added. They also were of the view that privatisation would address the issue, though the rates will be higher.
They added, a joint taskforce -- a collaborative forum under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister with an IAS officer as nodal officer -- should be established to monitor issues of industry, provide guidance, and fast-track implementation of projects.
Land allotment should be made online (submission, payment, tracking of application form, downloading documents, third party verification, and others). The availability of land, the place, and the rate should be made available to the investors online. Already 150 pharma companies are ready to invest in the UT, but are awaiting the availability of land, they said.
They advised the government to introduce flexi working hours in the IT and ITES industry by including them in the policy and amending labour laws. Besides effectively utilising the MSME technology centre, and releasing Rs 40 crore pending incentives to MSME units, they said.
Last year, a portion of ₹15 crore for 45 units was released, while the remaining Rs 40 crore is pending. Further, the CII wanted the government to enhance the threshold limit for MSME from 120 HP to 150 HP.
Further expressing the necessity of going green, the CII urged the government to come out with an e-Vehicle policy. "This would facilitate ancillary services of e-vehicles and assembling units to come up here," they said.
On the employment front, they explained that upskilling, and modifying curriculum to suit the needs of the industry is required for absorption of youths.
The availability of migrant workers could decrease, with huge investments coming up in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha or it may be available at higher costs. Hence, it is important for UT youngsters to change their mindset and skill themselves for employment, they said.