The state badly hit by the Pandemic has formed a high profile committee headed by the former RBI governor Rangarajan to analyse and suggest steps to be taken to revive the state's economy. The commitee has recently made recommendations to revive the State economy. The high priority recommendations includes financial restructuring of electricity utilities, tolling four and six-lane roads, extending the mortgages validity as long as they are registered with the State Revenue Office, on or before March 2020, and constituting a bio-tech board.

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Restructuring the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation (TANTRANSCO) are much needed, says the committee, increasing the tax and GSDP ratio through appropriate rate changes. The Indian Tolls Act gave power to the State governments to levy tolls on roads and bridges and its protection through security, the panel said: “TN can look into tolling four and six-lane roads developed by it and securitise them to generate additional revenues". Facilitating academia-industry partnerships by constituting and activating a Bio-Technology Board, new 100-acre Bio-Technology Park with GMP manufacturing facility and high-end analytical facilities near Chennai and Coimbatore, upgrading Stanley Medical College Stem Cell Research Centre as an Institute of Regenerative Medicine; and pushing the Centre/DBT to establish an anchor central institution as in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, are few of the recommendations for the bio-tech sector.

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TN should establish a Bulk Drug Pharma Park and set out a Pharma policy, Medipark near Chengalpattu has been recommended for immediate action. The State had already made expenditure cuts to about 0.7% of GSDP, further cuts are not warranted. The additional cost for the Transport corporations would be borne by the State as it cannot be forced on passengers who are also badly hit by the pandemic, the panel added.

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