Puducherry, a union territory (UT) of India, is bounded on the East by the Bay of Bengal and on the remaining three sides by Tamil Nadu. The UT comprises Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam, wherein Karaikal lies about 130 km south of Puducherry on the East Coast and Mahe is situated on the Malabar Coast on the Western Ghats surrounded by Kerala. Yanam is situated adjoining the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. The coastline is 45 kms, with 26 landing centers and 1,000 sq. km. of continental shelves (with potential marine fisheries).

The UT has a strong presence in the tourism, agriculture and marine product sectors. It is an attractive tourist destination with beaches and French architecture. In 2020, Puducherry witnessed arrivals of 1,114,942 domestic tourists and 92,080 foreign tourists.

Puducherry has a fishermen population of about 95,467, of which 29,383 fishermen are actively engaged in fishing from 27 marine fishing villages and 23 inland fishing villages/hamlets. The union territory is also endowed with freshwater area in the form of ponds and tanks that are suitable for both capture and culture fishery.

As of August 2022, Puducherry had a total installed power generation capacity of 406.63 MW, of which 338.60 MW was under central utilities, 32.50 MW was under state utilities and 35.53 MW was under the private sector. Of the total installed power generation capacity, 285.10 MW was contributed by thermal and 13.69 MW by renewable energy.

Agriculture is one of the most important occupations for the people of Puducherry. About 45% of the total population depends directly or indirectly on farming. The agriculture sector contributes 2% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of the Government of Puducherry. The UT is one of the largest producers of bananas, flowers, tapioca, coconut, groundnut and sugarcane in the country.

The following are some of the major government initiatives to promote Puducherry as an investment destination:

• In April 2022, Minister of Cooperation and Home Affairs, Mr. Amit Shah laid the foundation for three academic buildings in Puducherry worth Rs. 48.66 crores (US$ 6.31 million).
• In July 2021, the government revived its plan to expand the runway of Puducherry airport with a few modifications in the land plan. According to the new extension plan, the runway would be extended from its current length of 1,500 metres to 3,300 metres in the first phase by acquiring 170 acres of land.
• In February 2021, Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi inaugurated the Blood Centre at the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Puducherry, and dedicated a 100-bed hostel to women athletes in Lawspet, Puducherry. In addition, he inaugurated the reconstructed Heritage Marie Building.
• In February 2021, The Ministry of MSME announced that it is establishing an expertise centre in Puducherry to promote, support and foster growth of indigenous MSMEs and start-ups in the state.
• In January 2021, the Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare in Puducherry introduced a helpline to assist fishermen in contacting the department to resolve their grievances.
  • In addition, the government will provide transponders at a subsidised rate. It will offer a subsidy of Rs. 5,000 (US$ 68.90) and as a transponder costs Rs. 15,000 (US$ 206.69), the fishermen would only have to pay Rs. 10,000 (US$ 137.79) to procure the device.
• In August 2021, Chief Minister and the Finance Minister of Puducherry, Mr. N Rangasamy, delivered the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22. Mr. Rangasamy stated that the budget has been set at Rs. 9,924.41 crore (US$ 1.34 billion), with revenue receipts for the union territory expected at Rs. 6,190 crore (US$ 838.18 million).
• In November 2020, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) unveiled the ‘Potential Linked Credit Plan’ (PLP) for Puducherry worth Rs. 3,457.14 crore (US$ 467.74 million) for 2021-22.