Launch employment scheme: Rangarajan Committee recommends to TN

<p id="content">Coming out with an urban employment guarantee scheme, increasing the capital expenditure by Rs 10,000 crore and also spending Rs 3,200 crore in the construction workers fund to generate employment opportunities, are some of the recommendations made by the C. Rangarajan Committee to the Tamil Nadu government.</p>
The Tamil Nadu government had set up a high-level committee headed by former Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Rangarajan to recommend measures to bring back the state's economy on the growth path following Covid-19 lockdown.

Rangarajan submitted the Committee's report to Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam today.

Speaking to reporters, Rangarajan said the growth in the state's economy in 2021 is estimated to be 1.71 per cent or there may also be a slide.

He said looking at the Goods and Services Tax (GST), tax on petrol and power consumption, in two month's time the state's economic levels may be back to pre-Covid levels.

Rangarajan said the committee has recommended creating an urban employment guarantee scheme on the lines of the rural employment guarantee scheme. It is for the government to decide on that.

Similarly, the government should increase its capital expenditure by Rs 10,000 crore and also spend Rs 3,200 crore in the construction workers' fund to generate employment opportunities. When the demand is low, the government has to increase the spend, he added.

Rangarajan said the state's debt will increase this year as the health care expenses have increased while income has come down.

The state has to spend a further sum of Rs 5,000 crore on health.

On the industrial front, the committee has recommended increasing the capital of Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation to Rs 1,000 crore so that the organization can lend long term.

"Setting up of industrial parks and industrial townships and bringing in the credit guarantee scheme for small scale industries are other recommendations," Rangarajan said..