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August 1, 2024 
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Speaking at the conclusion of the 2015 event, then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said that total investments arising from Global Investor Meet 2015 (GIM-1) stood at Rs 2.42 lakh crore. The ADMK Government, on 12 February 2018, have stated that investment to the tune of Rs 62,738 crore from at least 61 companies are at various stages of implementation. The Government has further announced that there will be a second edition of Global Investor Meet (GIM-2) to be held on 23 and 24 January 2019. The Government has expressed hope to attract twice the proposed investment of GIM-1 but has failed to explain why, according to their own estimation, only 25% of the promised investment has been realized so far. As the Government prepares to start work towards GIM-2, it is the right time to assess the impact of GIM-1.
GIM-1 was held on 9 and 10 September 2015 and its real impact should be seen on the investment inflow in the year 2016-17. According to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received by Tamil Nadu fell by over 50% to Rs 14,276 crore in the period spanning April to March 2016-17, as against Rs 29,200 crore during the corresponding period in 2015-16. During the same periods, the FDI to Maharashtra doubled from Rs 61,370 crore to Rs 1,26,616 lakh crore. Gujarat, too, registered a significant increase in FDI from 2015-16 to 2016-17. If the Government of Tamil Nadu wants to project the Global Investor Meet as an attractive pathway for investment, then they must analyse why the FDI flow into the State actually shrunk after GIM-1 and whether there has been any policy course correction in this regard.
Secondly, one of the best case studies to understand the efficacy of the investment proposals that came out of GIM-1 is that of Thoothukudi. GIM-1 promised a windfall industrial investment of Rs 67,000 crore to Thoothukudi. In fact, 5,550 acres of land was identified by State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) in the port city but, so far, not a single project has been realized. As a result, there has been no infrastructure upgradation and the Southern region has consequently suffered. In such a situation, without carefully taking stock of the reasons for failure, it seems unwise to forge ahead with GIM-2. The Government may also consider holding an investor summit only for the southern region, which would ensure that such regions gain prominence as investment destinations.
Thirdly, it is useful for us to take a look at the Government strategy in terms of competing with other states in terms of attracting investment. Though, Tamil Nadu has fallen behind states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, it is strange to see the Government through its Department of Information and Public Relations send out an email on 6 January 2018 to media outlets in the state informing them of the ‘Advantage Assam’ roadshow in Chennai and the Global Investors’ Summit to be held in Guwahati. While Assam has every right to woo investment from across the country, it belies belief to see that the Government of Tamil Nadu would actively promote the outflow of investment from the State. Furthermore, GIM-2 was initially planned for 2018 and the State Budget 2017-18 had allotted Rs 75 crore towards this. Now, it has been rescheduled to January 2019 through a press released dated 12 February 2018 and there are no reasons stated for this postponement. Such a lackadaisical approach towards a premier investment meeting reflects poorly on the government and shakes the confidence of potential investors.
All of this adds up to a lack of a clear strategy and coherent vision to navigate the State. While Tamil Nadu may boast of a skilled labour force, quality infrastructure and good connectivity, there is an unshakeable feeling that the unstable political leadership has turned investors away. It would be prudent for the Government to firstly put out a white paper on all the investments from GIM-1, learn from the lessons of GIM-1 and also create a forward-looking policy environment that will boost investment in future.
Manuraj Shunmugasundaram
Advocate & Spokesperson, DMK
Link to the Article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/why-gim-2-0-is-an-ambitious-leap-for-defaulting-tn/articleshow/63020642.cms
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