50 YEARS OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS

Half a century is a significant milestone in the journey of a nation. All along Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had envisioned a special status for Pondicherry to preserve " the Window to the French Culture in India". While Nehru was laying strong foundations for a modern industrialised nation, Pondicherry joined the Union of India in 1954 with limited industrial inheritance. There were only three large textile mills and some five odd small industrial institutions. The territory has since come a long way.

Pondicherry has achieved rapid industrial progress in all these years and is poised for spectacular growth. By June 2007, we have an impressive establishment of 71 Large scale industries, 168 Medium and 7632 small scale units. Over the last fifty years there has been massive growth of industries in the Union Territory.

The industrial sector employed just about 8000 persons in the early fifties. Now with investment of over Rs 2136 crores, industries are the life-blood of economy providing livelihood to about 91600 people.

The present status of industries in Pondicherry can be summarised as below:-

As on June 2007	No. of Units	Investment (Rs in Crores)	Employment In numbers
Large scale	71	1153.54	18052
Medium scale	168	434.49	9835
Small scale	7632	546.35	63713
Total	7871	2136.38	91600