வாழ்வாதாரம்
Jobs, MSME Growth & Economic Dignity
True empowerment begins with the dignity of a steady income. Empower Tamizhagam works to revitalize the local economy by rescuing small businesses from debt, bridging the rural-urban skills gap, and deploying agri-tech solutions like FarmX.
By de-bottlenecking the regulatory hurdles that stifle MSMEs and connecting job-seekers to the green economy, we transform local ecosystems into engines of sustainable growth and job creation.
livelihood & econ dev
We believe enhancing sustainable livelihoods ecosystem and capacity building are key steps towards reduction of poverty in India.
The focus is on employment generation, fostering small businesses and other community based impact projects.
The United Nations Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) reports that about 16% of the Indian population, or 234 million people, live in poverty.
Through our LED (Livelihood and Economic Development) program:
- Ensure Ease of Doing Business for start-ups, small business and enterprises entering Tamil Nadu and India.
- Tamil Nadu Guidance Bureau – Global Investors Meet. Help international companies establish presence in TN, India.
- Promote MSMEs and improve their access to finance and markets. Incubate and support entrepreneurship and self-employment including opportunities for women and the underserved.
- Optimize skill development to increase relevance and employment. Channel govt resources for livelihood projects.
- Community and farming enhancement programs to generate employment.
Efforts:
- Facilitated engagement with businesses, and part of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Delegation to the United States.
- Industry and investment efforts included electric vehicles, tech, and water management.
- Last-Mile Rural Development and MGNREGA Scheme intervention, and facilitation efforts.
- Assisting farmers of Panruti and Cuddalore District with industry opportunities from Cashew Nut Shell Liquid [CSNL] and cashew apple.
- Improving sustainable livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers, women, businesses etc
- Eco-tourism in Cuddalore – tourism in Pichavaram mangrove forest area and opportunities for artisans, and farmers.
SMALL BUSINESS
Voice, support, and growth for MSMEs.
- Platform for MSMEs and entrepreneurs
- Support for funding and compliance
- Incubation and early-stage support
- Unified voice for policy and advocacy
CITIZEN ACTION NETWORK
Citizen Action Network (CAN) is a public service project whose mission is to help Tamil Nadu residents and businesses prioritize, demand, monitor and provide feedback on projects implemented by the Government of India, Tamil Nadu State Government and Chennai City Corporation.
Our goal is to facilitate systematic participation of citizens to ensure the relevance of government policies and spending of our tax money.
Responsibilities:
- Help form and be an interface to CAN Local Committees
- Connect CAN Local Committees with project implementation bodies such as PWD, EB etc.
- Intervene with Principal Secretaries, Chennai Corporation, District Collectors, if implementation is not satisfactory based on feedback from CAN Local Committees.
- Ensure adequate budgets are allocated for projects from various departmental, constituency and Corporation funds, plus other sources.
- Raise unresolved issues in the TN State Assembly, Parliament and the media as appropriate.
- Bring the full influence of political, government, and media networks to address the concerns at hand including unsatisfactory project implementation
Each Local Committee has 2 to 5 members at the colony, block or building society level. CAN Local Committee will take an active role in improving their area’s facilities and infrastructure through effective management of public projects.
- Identify and prioritize the top needs in the neighbourhood: Roads, schools, education/teachers, drainage, water, employment, public safety, parks, playgrounds, electricity/transformers, lighting, healthcare, etc.
- Communicate to designated government official to make an implementation work plan and follow-up through periodic phone calls and personal meetings
- Monitor project implementation in progress to ensure satisfactory progress in terms of suitability of approach, quality and timeliness through periodic visits to site and with implementing body.
- Provide feedback on project implementation through phone calls and personal meetings with corporation bodies and government officials in-charge to report on satisfactory progress and quality. These would be facilitated by the elected officials of the CAN Local committee.
- Organize monthly CAN meetings and field visits to review local needs and project progress.
- Engage with other local organizations and corporates for volunteer support and funds if required.
CITIZEN TOOLS
To find out what is happening with our tax money and government decisions, a number of resources are available. Any queries that you may have with specific government departments are best addressed to the officials in question or the heads of departments. Where no response is forthcoming, a few options exist:
- Issues with the Government in India?
CP-GRAM Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System pgportal.gov.in/ - Figuring out what is happening with your file in a certain Govt of India department?
RTI: Right to Information Act. rti.gov.in/ - RTI Tamil Nadu State Government. www.tn.gov.in/rti/
STARTUP SUPPORT
Many subsidized and free services are made available for start-up ecosystems in India and Tamil Nadu.
Startup India by Government of India www.startupindia.gov.in
Collateral-Free Financing – Powered by Govt of India. Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises up to Rs 2 Crore. www.cgtmse.in
ET LEGAL
In the public interest, our legal team is happy to assess issues, regulations and processes. In addition to governmental intervention, we also support small businesses, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and NGOs.
We enable access to finance, recovery of funds from governments and the private sector. A number of legal and governmental options exist to ensure rights are protected and ease of doing business is increased. Any individual should be able to start a small business without arduous procedures and regulations.
New policies and stimuli have been announced by the Government of India, and the Government of Tamil Nadu. We enable access to these and help navigate the system. Any requests to the government may also be fast-tracked.
FARMX
FarmX is a platform by Empower Tamizhagam (ET Impact) that empowers farmers, enables a robust marketplace, cold chain facilities, reduces wastage, and feeds the hungry. This marketplace ensures consistent scale and value year-around to the key stakeholders.
