Stalin’s UK Visit Nets ₹1,100-Crore Deals for Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s European investment tour kicked off with a bang in the UK, securing multiple high-value Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with British firms, signaling a major boost for the state’s aerospace, clean energy, maritime, and textile sectors. The agreements, inked on the first day of Stalin’s visit, include a Rs 520-crore deal with Britannia Garment Packaging and a Rs 300-crore pact with Wilson Power & Distribution Technologies, alongside commitments from engineering giant Rolls-Royce to expand its footprint in Tamil Nadu.

The deals, part of Tamil Nadu’s aggressive push to capitalize on the proposed India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), position the state as a hub for precision engineering and high-value manufacturing. Rolls-Royce, a global leader in aerospace, announced plans to scale up operations in Tamil Nadu, including establishing a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility, a research and development center, and a training institute, while expanding its joint venture, International Aerospace Manufacturing Pvt Ltd (IAMPL), in Hosur. This move strengthens Tamil Nadu’s role within India’s Defence Industrial Corridor, reinforcing its reputation as a nucleus for advanced manufacturing.

In the textile sector, a cornerstone of Tamil Nadu’s export economy, UK-based Britannia Garment Packaging, through its subsidiary Britannia RFID Technologies, will invest Rs 520 crore to set up a state-of-the-art RFID tag manufacturing unit in Tiruppur and Namakkal. The project is expected to create 550 jobs, enhancing the competitiveness of the state’s textile exporters. Similarly, Wilson Power & Distribution Technologies committed Rs 300 crore to build an electric transformer manufacturing facility, projected to generate 543 jobs and bolster Tamil Nadu’s renewable energy infrastructure.

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The maritime sector also saw significant gains, with Lloyd’s List Intelligence signing an MoU to expand its Global Capability Centre in Chennai, creating 200 high-skill jobs by FY2026. The firm, a leader in vessel tracking and maritime risk analytics, will deepen Tamil Nadu’s role in global maritime intelligence.

Education and design were not overlooked. French-origin École Intuit Lab partnered with Sakthi Excellence Academy to establish a design-focused higher education institution in Coimbatore, aiming to train professionals in branding, media, and innovation. Additionally, the University of Exeter signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu to foster joint research, faculty exchanges, and collaborative programs in key disciplines, enhancing the state’s academic ecosystem.

In an X post, Stalin celebrated the “six strategic wins” for Tamil Nadu, highlighting their impact on growth, innovation, and renewable energy. “Our agreements with Wilson Power and Britannia RFID will boost our renewable energy industry and improve the competitiveness of exporters from Western Tamil Nadu,” he wrote. The deals, expected to create over 1,200 jobs, underscore Tamil Nadu’s emergence as a global investment destination, with its strategic focus on leveraging the India-UK FTA to drive economic growth and innovation.

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