COIMBATORE: Businesses will face severe setbacks if a new airport is not built in Tamil Nadu in the next five years, CII southern region president P Ravichandran has said. If a new airport is not possible, the govt can also think about expanding the airport at Meenambakkam in Chennai to cater to the increasing traffic, according to him.Addressing a news conference here on Thursday, Ravichandran said CII had formed a dedicated committee to guide and drive the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). More than 10,000 MSMEs across the country are currently members of the CII. “Out of these, 3,500 are in the southern region, with 1,700 based in Tamil Nadu alone. The growth of MSMEs is critical, especially considering that the southern region contributes 34% to the country’s gross domestic product,” he said.Highlighting the need for modernisation, he added that a strong India could only be built if the MSME sector thrives. “Even though everything has gone digital today, many MSMEs have yet to adopt digital transmissions. Therefore, we are actively taking initiatives to train and upgrade them in digitisation and artificial intelligence,” he said.He noted that Tamil Nadu has a vast pool of women who, if provided with proper industrial training, could effectively solve the current labour shortage in the manufacturing sector. Drawing a comparison with competing global markets, he mentioned that countries like Vietnam had reduced electricity tariffs for MSMEs. “If the power tariff is reduced by ₹2 per unit here as well, it will give a significant boost to economic growth,” he said.
