Latest news with #PalanivelThiagaRajan
Time of India
30-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Madurai corpn signs MoU to launch skill centre for differently-abled
Madurai: Madurai corporation, in collaboration with Chennai Mission and MS Chellamuthu Trust, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday to establish a skill development centre and canteen for people with disabilities, especially those with mental health conditions and developmental challenges. The MoU was signed at Arignar Anna Maligai in the presence of state minister for information technology and digital services, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, and Madurai mayor Indrani Ponvasanth. The agreement was signed by Rama Subramanian, founder of MS Chellamuthu Trust, and Madurai corporation commissioner Chitra Vijayan. The centre and canteen will be set up at the Anna Maligai premises and at Jhansi Rani Park respectively. The initiative aims to provide livelihood opportunities through vocational training in hospitality, food preparation, and service sectors. Chennai Mission will offer technical support and training modules based on similar successful models in Chennai. This initiative is also part of the ongoing Happy Schooling project in corporation schools and the trust's mental health outreach. Training is expected to begin by the last week of July, with experienced chefs and supervisors leading the programme, said corporation officials.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Watch: ‘Centre cannot dictate States': federalism, funds and delimitation dominate
At The Hindu Huddle 2025, Tamil Nadu IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Kerala Law and Industries Minister P. Rajeeve participated in a panel discussion titled 'More Than a Sum of Parts: Reimagining India's Federalism.' Moderated by Narayan Lakshman, the conversation addressed concerns about the evolving relationship between the Union and State governments. The ministers highlighted issues such as fiscal autonomy, borrowing limits, the role of Governors, language, and the upcoming delimitation exercise. They argued that the Constitution grants states significant independence, and expressed concern over what they described as increasing centralisation of power by the Union government. Mr. Thiaga Rajan raised the issue of cess and surcharges affecting the divisible tax pool, while Mr. Rajeeve pointed to parliamentary overreach in regulating universities and borrowing powers. Both ministers voiced concerns that the southern states may face reduced representation post-delimitation despite leading in development and population control. Read more: Union Government cannot dictate the state's policies, says Palanivel Thiaga Rajan
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
1,500cr plan to restore Adyar river runs into vote bank politics, as encroachments remain
Chennai: A Rs 1,500-crore project to rejuvenate and restore a 'dead' 44-km stretch of River Adyar is stuck since 2023 and lying choked in the city. Reason: Petty, local politics which has been obstructing and derailing every effort to remove and relocate past three states budgets, including the one presented by Palanivel Thiaga Rajan in 2023, have referred to the project, but not a brick has been moved on the ground. In the latest budget announcement in Feb, the present finance minister, Thangam Thennarasu, said a stretch of river from Thiru Vi Ka Bridge in Adyar to Saidapet Bridge would be restored in 15 months, while the entire river, till zero point near Guduvanchery Lake, would be restored in 30 months. Yet, nothing has changed on the Nadu govt even created a company — Chennai Rivers Transformation Company Limited — last year with an IAS officer heading it to execute the project. This company hired a concessionaire, Khilari, to prepare a detailed project report and restore the river. Yet, they have not been able to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) because at least 2,300 encroaching houses on the river in prime stretches like Saidapet, Kotturpuram, and Jafferkhanpet are yet to be removed. Officials blame local politicians and say they are stalling the project is designed in such a way that out of the Rs 1,500 crore, the contractor Khilari has to mobilise Rs 750 crore finance from banks, while the state will provide the rest. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo "To get a finance closure, the contractor has to show end-to-end project execution possibilities in the DPR to the banks. The DPR involves creating trunk sewer lines along the riverbanks to deflect sewage and constructing a sewage-treatment plant (STP). Without removing encroachments, these designs cannot be shown in the DPR," said an official. The Rs 1,500 crore is capital charges, and the govt will give another Rs 3,500 crore for maintenance for a period of 15 said local politicians are stalling removal of at least 700 houses in Thideer Nagar of Saidapet, 350 houses in Jafferkhanpet, and about 350 houses in Kotturpuram. "The city commissioner of police has agreed to give us police support to remove encroachments, but local politicians prevent officials from taking even biometric surveys by ensuring the deployment of strongmen to stage protests," said an TOI made a spot visit to these neighbourhoods, except for a few "owners," most of them were tenants paying rent of Rs 8,000 to Rs 15,000 to slumlords, who have hijacked the entire riverbanks. These slumlords, backed by politicians, prevent authorities from taking Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board has over 1,000 houses ready for these river encroachers in places like Perumbakkam, Ekkatuthangal, Thiruvottiyur, and Ambattur. "Yet, they are not willing to leave. Local politicians are holding them back, as these encroachers collectively constitute about 10,000 votes," said the five STPs are planned in these encroachment areas. "How can we proceed with the project with encroachers on the banks letting out sewage? Even if we restore near the estuary, sewage is still going to come from the top."When contacted, the state health minister, Ma Subramanian, who represents the Saidapet constituency where the project is stalled, said the encroachers have to be given houses in the area itself. "They cannot be moved elsewhere as they have lived here for years. We will arrive at a solution in three months," he Dec 2024, water resources minister Duraimuguran instructed all MLAs not to obstruct encroachment removal drives. "MLAs must not stall drives by seeing their votes will get affected," he told officials, however, said the Saidapet area was already congested, but they will attempt to provide accommodation in the vicinity. "Only announcements have come for three years, but nothing has happened. If they are not removing encroachments even after having all authentic data of the extent of the width of the river, it is questionable," said water management expert S Janakarajan.A detailed feasibility report done by Chennai Metro Water for this project revealed that the river has lost its life with 0 dissolved oxygen per mg/l. A river must have more than 4 mg/l dissolved oxygen for life to sustain. "The river restoration is intricate. They have to plug sewage too, remove silt which will be 2-metres deep. I don't know what they are going to do," said Janakarajan.
The Hindu
10-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
The Hindu Huddle 2025: Union Government cannot dictate the state's policies, says Palanivel Thiaga Rajan
The Union Government cannot dictate the state's policies as the elected governments in states get to decide for themselves within the realm of the constitution, Tamil Nadu Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said on Saturday. 'Government of India nowhere gets the power to tell us what our priorities are. They are trying to dictate to us. The constitution is clear about Government of India cannot be dictating state's policies. If you try to do all things from Delhi because you are power hungry, you will fail,' the Minister said during the panel discussion on 'More Than a Sum of Parts: Reimagining India's Federalism', moderated by Narayan Lakshman, the Curator of The Hindu Huddle and Opinion Editor, The Hindu. Also Read | The Hindu Huddle 2025 Day 2 live updates Echoing similar sentiments, P. Rajeeve, Kerala Minister for Law, Industries and Coir said: 'The parliament cannot fix the borrowing limits of the state. It does not have power to regulate universities. Centre is taking away all powers and encroaching upon the states' powers.' Some Governors are living in colonial era, and unfortunately nobody during the discussion in Constituent Assembly could predict that this kind of people will become Governors, he said, hitting out at the overreach of the Governors in the Opposition-ruled states. Range of issues The two leaders exchanged their views over a range of issues on devolution of funds, delimitation, centre-state relationship, the role of the Governor and language, which comes at a time when Southern states are at loggerheads with the Union Government. Asking when was the last time that a Governor spoke about the issues pertaining to his state, Mr. Thiaga Rajan said that though the money was coming from states, the Centre was limiting the divisible pool by charging cess and surcharges that are not divisible. 'The Centre is using Article 293 and provisions in back -to back loan to limit the borrowing limits of the state. We are capable of handling our finances. Who is questioning the Centre when the fiscal deficit is going through the roof?' Delimitation On the delimitation exercise that is set to be disadvantageous to Southern states, Mr. Rajeeve said: 'We are not against delimitation, but a proportion should be maintained when the number of seats is increased. Equal representation has to be provided. It will be unfair if development index and population control is not considered and South's representation is reduced.' Seeking a 30-years freeze on delimitation, Mr. Thiaga Rajan said that states that successfully implemented population control were being punished. 'Whichever party dominates the Hindi heartland has the potential to be in power. Importance of other 26 states will be inconsequential. The states that would benefit in redistribution of seats are the Hindi heartland states that are already securing benefits. What more do they expect with more and better representation? Tall leaders of the country in their wisdom decided to freeze the delimitation exercise.' He pointed out at the equitable representation in the GST council irrespective of the contribution of states to GST pool or the population size. The Hindu Huddle 2025 is presented by Sami-Sabinsa Group Co-powered by: Government of Karnataka, Government of Telangana; Associate Partners: ONGC, Presidency University, TAFE, Akshayakalpa Organic; Energy Partner : Indian Oil Corporation Limited; Realty partner: Casagrand; Knowledge partner: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham; State partner: Meghalaya tourism and Haryana government; Luxury car partner: Toyota; Radio partner: Radio City; Gift partner: Anand Prakash; Broadcast partner: Times Now; Outdoor media partner: Signpost India
New Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
State plans to set up govt-run cloud exchange hub to position Tamil Nadu at forefront of AI
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is planning to establish a government-run cloud exchange hub, aiming to position the state at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital innovation. The initiative, part of broader efforts to expand Chennai's data centre ecosystem, is expected to support research, analytics, and technological advancements. Speaking at the 7th ASSOCHAM Conclave on 'Smart Datacenters & Cloud Infrastructure', Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, the state's Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services, said that if Chennai captures a significant share of India's growing data infrastructure market, it could provide a 'strong foundation for the AI industry'. Chennai's data centre capacity is projected to increase from 202.43 MW in 2025 to 551.15 MW by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.18%, according to PwC. The city's strategic coastal location, infrastructure, and government policies are driving investment. The Tamil Nadu Data Centre Policy 2021 has played a key role, offering tax breaks, land subsidies, and power tariff concessions to attract developers. These measures, Rajan said, are laying the groundwork for both digital infrastructure and broader economic transformation. PwC's report calls for further policy enhancements, including incentives for sustainable and energy-efficient data centres, expanded renewable energy support, and clear public-private partnership (PPP) guidelines. It also recommends streamlined regulatory processes and training programmes to develop a skilled workforce for the sector. With the adoption of hybrid and multi-cloud strategies rising across enterprises, demand for scalable data infrastructure is growing. The spread of AI and big data analytics is also driving increased investment in high-capacity, energy-efficient facilities, the PwC report said. Beyond Chennai, other cities such as Coimbatore and Madurai are also poised to benefit. The PwC report said Coimbatore's strong industrial base and educational ecosystem alongside Madurai's growing IT workforce make them attractive locations for data infrastructure growth. With supportive policies, a skilled workforce, and accelerating investment, TN is positioned to become a national leader in digital infrastructure, paving the way for AI-led innovation.
