Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 30 (ANI): Large industrial investments need to be complemented by strong growth in the MSME sector to ensure that economic gains reach common citizens, industrialist and DMK manifesto committee member Suresh Samantham told ANI, highlighting the importance of linking big industry with smaller enterprises.

"The manifesto talks about bringing in huge investments for large industries, around Rs 18 lakh crore. But if these investments have to reach the common people, these investments have to flow through MSMEs," he said.

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According to him, the plan also includes fresh investments of around Rs 5 lakh crore in the MSME sector to help strengthen smaller businesses and support wider economic participation.

"The manifesto also talks about Rs 5 lakh crores worth of investments in the MSME... so that the economy and the investments trickle down to common people. So eventually the per capita income for the Tamil Nadu's common citizens increases," he added.

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Samantham also pointed to the growing importance of the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality) industry, which is expected to see increasing adoption of artificial intelligence.

"The AVGC is one of the booming industries... in addition to the AVGC policy, there are two other things that have been mentioned. One is called the AI Mission 2.0, which will also play heavy," he said, adding that the sector is likely to use AI extensively going forward.

He also highlighted plans to expand the presence of global capability centres (GCCs) in the state by attracting multinational companies to establish their operations across multiple cities.

"Five hundred new GCCs have to be brought together. What that really means is we are going to bring companies like Disney, companies like NBC Universal, who have the global capability centres into Chennai, not just in Chennai, also to other cities like Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli," Samantham said.

According to him, such centres could generate high-value employment opportunities in technology and creative sectors.

"These centres are going to create jobs, not Rs 20,000 or Rs 30,000 salaries, but like Rs 1 lakh, Rs 2 lakh, Rs 3 lakhs per month... That's why 20,000 new high-paying jobs will be created," he added.

The proposed initiatives also include the creation of 100 deep-tech startup zones and sectoral innovation labs by 2030, building on the state's technology ecosystem.

"If you look at Tamil Nadu's history, it started as an automobile cluster. From that, it became an electronics cluster. From that, it became a SaaS capital. Now Tamil Nadu is aiming to also become the deep tech capital," Samantham said.

He pointed to emerging startups in areas such as space technology and defence technology as part of the state's growing deep-tech ecosystem.

"We have companies like ePlane, companies like AgniCool, who are building defence technology and space technology in a big way. And this is the foundation for us to transform Tamil Nadu into a deep tech capital for India," he said.

Samantham also spoke about the "Made in Tamil Nadu" initiative, which aims to encourage local manufacturing and build pride among young professionals and entrepreneurs in the state.

"Made in Tamil Nadu is a new item that we added in this manifesto... It is like when you see a camera 50 years ago and it says 'Made in Japan'... people feel very proud about it," he said.

"We wanted to create a similar emotional connect and a proud moment for the youth of Tamil Nadu when they make products here and it goes to a global level," Samantham added. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)