TN to benefit from India's growth, says PM Modi

Tiruchy: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that Tamil Nadu is a reflection of India’s prosperity and culture and the infrastructure projects that he inaugurated during his visit to the state would create thousands of employment opportunities in the state.

The Prime Minister was speaking here after inaugurating projects which entailed an investment of Rs 20,000 crore spanning sectors such as roadways, railways, ports, airports, energy and petroleum pipelines. They included the Rs 1,100-crore second terminal at Tiruchy airport.

Mr Modi said the next 25 years will play a crucial role in India becoming a developed nation in terms of economic and cultural prosperity.
The huge foreign investments in India will directly benefit Tamil Nadu and its people as the state has become a prime brand ambassador for Make in India, Mr Modi said.  The new terminal building at Tiruchirappalli international airport will increase the capacity by three times and strengthen connectivity with East Asia, Middle East and other parts of the world. It will also help introduce the world to Tamil culture and heritage, he said.

The five new railway projects will promote industry and electricity generation while the new road projects will connect important centers of faith and tourism such as Srirangam, Chidambaram, Rameshwaram and Vellore, he said.

The Prime Minister said the Sagarmala Yojna connects the ports in the country with better roads and said the port capacity and turn-around time of the ships have improved significantly as he mentioned Kamarajar Port whose capacity has been doubled. He said the inauguration of general cargo berth-II of Kamarajar Port will strengthen Tamil Nadu’s import and export, especially the automobile sector.

He said Tamil Nadu is home to the ancient language of Tamil and is a treasure trove of cultural heritage and mentioned Thiruvalluvar and Subramania Bharati among others who created magnificent literature. He also mentioned scientific and technological brains like C.V. Raman who instilled new energy in him whenever he visited the state.

Referring to the rich heritage of Tiruchirappalli, the Prime Minister said the town stores the remnants of good governance models of dynasties such as Pallava, Chola, Pandya and Nayak.

Mr Modi said that he mentions Tamil culture whenever he gets an opportunity abroad. “I believe in the continuous expansion of the contribution of Tamil cultural inspiration in the development and heritage of the country,” he said, and mentioned placing the Sengol in the new Parliament building and the conduct of the Kashi-Tamil and Kashi Saurashtra-Sangamam.

Mr Modi said the Union government made record spending in Tamil Nadu in the last 10 years. “The states were given Rs 30 lakh crore in the decade preceding 2014 but they got 120 lakh crore rupees in the last 10 years. Tamil Nadu too got 2.5 times more money in this period as compared to the 10 years preceding 2014. For national highway construction, more than three times expenditure was done in the state and 2.5 times more money was spent in the railways sector in the state, Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister recalled that several people lost their lives in the recent floods in the state and said the Union government stood with the people. “We are providing all possible help to the state government,” he said.

Union civil aviation and steel minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the Union government has ensured that airports are not only a medium of travel but also centres of growth. “Airports are also emerging as centres of employment for the whole country,” he said, adding that civil aviation has been democratised in the last 9.5 years so that anyone can fly now.

The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the Demonstration Fast Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant (DFRP) at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam.  The DFRP, developed at a cost of Rs 400 crore, is equipped with a unique design, which is the only of its kind in the world and is capable of reprocessing both carbide and oxide fuels discharged from the fast reactors and also inaugurated the 500 bedded Boys’ Hostel ‘AMETHYST’ of National Institute of Technology (NIT) – Tiruchirappalli.