Industrial Development & Economic Growth in Puducherry

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.

As of 2020, Puducherry had a total installed power-generation capacity of 376.20 megawatt (MW) and was managed by central utilities. Thermal power plants accounted for a significant share (283 MW) in the total installed capacity, whereas nuclear and renewable energy contributed 86 MW and 7.2 MW, respectively. The industrial sector is the largest consumer of electricity, followed by the domestic sector.

The UT has a well-developed social, physical and industrial infrastructure. It has a domestic airport that connects it to cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Vijayawada. It also two port in Puducherry and Karaikal.

Recent Developments:

• In July 2018, the union territory government proposed to establish an exclusive spinal injury treatment centre at the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute in Puducherry.
• The Industrial Policy 2016 is expected to attract an investment of US$ 5 billion and add 50,000 jobs.

Key Sectors:

• Agriculture is one of the most important occupations for the people of Pondicherry. About 45% of the total population depends directly or indirectly on farming. The main crop of this territory is paddy. The UT is one of the largest producers of bananas, flowers, tapioca, coconut, groundnut and sugarcane.
• Puducherry is an attractive tourist destination with beaches, French architecture, churches and temples. Domestic tourists arrived from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kerala, Chennai, Odisha and West Bengal. The UT also has an occupancy capacity of 5,000 rooms in Puducherry as of 2018.

• Puducherry has a 45-km coastline, with 26 landing centres and 1,000 sq. km. of continental shelves (with potential for marine fisheries). The UT also has fresh-water area in the form of ponds and tanks suitable for both capture and culture fishery.