Chennai, Mar 18 : The Confederation of Indian Industry (Tamil Nadu) welcomed the Tamil Nadu State Budget 2022-23 as futuristic, inclusive and growth oriented aimed at propelling economic growth. Mr Satyakam Arya, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu in a statement said that budget was presented with the aim to strengthen the fiscal position of the State without increasing the tax burden of the taxpayers, increasing employability of the youth, attracting new investments and data driven governance. The reduction of fiscal deficit from 4.33% to 3.80% is a great achievement of the State Government despite the pandemic situation and lockdowns during the last fiscal year, he added. He also said that many of the recommendations of CII have been accepted by the Government which includes upgraded single window system for CMDA, increasing of FSI to encourage transit-oriented development and the adjoining areas of the outer ring road of Chennai, Startup Centre at Nandambakkam, regional startup hubs at Madurai, Tirunelveli and Erode besides increased fund allocation for Chennai-Kanyakumari industrial corridor. Mr Shankar Vanavarayar, Vice chairman, CII Tamil Nadu said that Tamil Nadu being the pioneer in providing high quality education in the country, the State Government has made many allocations in the budget. A knowledge city with the collaboration of world-renowned versities, new and smart classrooms for the Government schools, modern sports complexes, District central libraries for the newly created districts will help the students to further excel in their skills. He also said that the announcement made in the budget for a corpus of Rs 30 crore towards setting up of Tamil Nadu Startup and Innovation Mission (TANSIM), Rs.75 crore for setting up of an iconic State Startup Hub Centre in Chennai and the support for startups promoted by SC/ ST entrepreneurs would strengthen the startup ecosystem in the State. Mr C K Ranganathan, Immediate Past Chairman, CII Southern Region said that the focus of the Budget on the agriculture sector of the economy will help to achieve an inclusive growth in the State. He also said that on the sustainability initiatives the Finance Minister has introduced the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Change fund, 500 electric buses for the State Transportation department, botanical garden at Chennai, Nature Park, new eco-tourist places will not only help to protect the environment but also boost the tourism sector of the State. Dr S Chandrakumar, Immediate Past Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu said that MSMEs play a vital role in the employment creation of the State, the Finance Minister has further extended the support to the sector. The announcements of new Industrial parks, electronic clusters, Micro Cluster Development Programme for the products like cookware, artificial jewellery, cashew procession cluster, toys cluster, especially in the southern districts will help to achieve the balanced growth of the state. He also said that the announcement of capital subsidy for MSMEs and special fund for export organizations to build the required public infrastructure, new footwear and leather industry development policy will boost the export sector of the State. GV 2021