Events Details

MEPZ Leadership Summit 2.0 positions Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Puducherry (TAP) Region at the Heart of Global Investment and Supply Chain Networks

  Chennai, 4 February 2026: The MEPZ Leadership Summit 2.0, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel & Suites GRT, Chennai on 4 February 2026, convened senior representatives from the Central and State Governments, industry leaders, global trade bodies, and institutional stakeholders to deliberate on strategies for attracting inbound investments and anchoring global supply chains in the Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Puducherry (TAP) Region.

In his opening address, Mr. Alex Paul Menon, IAS, Zonal Development Commissioner, MEPZ SEZ, highlighted how global macroeconomic shifts including geopolitical realignments, trade restructuring, and the growing emphasis on supply chain resilience are influencing investment decisions worldwide. He positioned the Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Puducherry (TAP) Region, with its diversified industrial ecosystem and strong SEZ–EOU presence, as a strategic gateway for integrating into reconfigured global value chains.

The summit witnessed participation from leading industry representatives across manufacturing, engineering, and global services sectors, alongside senior officials from key state facilitation agencies including Guidance Tamil Nadu, SIPCOT, TIDCO, ELCOT, and MEPZ, as well as policymakers and trade authorities from the central government. The deliberations reflected a shared focus on how India can balance export competitiveness with the scale of its domestic market, strengthen logistics and supply-chain readiness, and enhance ease of doing business. Discussions underscored the importance of coordinated institutional facilitation across agencies, faster and more predictable project execution, and robust issue-resolution mechanisms to improve the end-to-end investor experience. Participants also highlighted emerging opportunities in sectors such as advanced manufacturing, data centres, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), renewable energy, textiles, and leather, alongside the growing role of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as new investment hubs supported by skilled talent and improving infrastructure.

From a policy perspective, the need to modernise SEZ and EOU frameworks to align with evolving global trade dynamics featured prominently, with emphasis on simplifying procedures, leveraging technology-enabled compliance, and ensuring that India’s industrial ecosystem remains competitive and globally integrated.

Overall, the summit reflected a shared commitment among industry leaders and policymakers to position the Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Puducherry (TAP) Region as a coordinated, investor-ready, and future-focused ecosystem - one capable of supporting resilient supply chains, globally competitive manufacturing, and long-term economic growth.