Chennai/Thiruvananthapuram: The Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments have begun wide-ranging talks on inter-state collaboration in multiple sectors, ranging from beach sand mining and mineral value addition, to AI-driven governance, EV ecosystems, tourism and digital solutions.
What began as a casual conversation between the industries ministers of both states during dinner at the end of the Udyog Samagam 2025 conference in New Delhi this month quickly escalated to formal talks. The first high-level meeting between the two state industries ministers and department secretaries was held in Tamil Nadu on 25 November.
The talks are a rare case of industrial cooperation between the neighbouring southern states, aiming to tap Tamil Nadu’s resource base with Kerala’s technical expertise.
At the centre of the proposals at the meeting between Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce T.R.B. Rajaa and Kerala’s Minister for Industries, Law & Coir P. Rajeev was a strategic joint venture in beach sand mining, sources privy to the proposals submitted by Kerala told The Print.
#Kerala 🤝 #TamilNadu:
God’s Own Partnership ; )
Thrilled that Kerala and Tamil Nadu are building a model for inter-state cooperation that is collaborative, positive and focused on results.
It was only recently, post an event in Delhi on the 11th of November, at a dinner table… pic.twitter.com/nMnYfg1asW
— Dr. T R B Rajaa (@TRBRajaa) November 25, 2025
According to sources, state government-run Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) has sought permission to mine and extract heavy minerals from 185 acres of patta land in Tamil Nadu’s Tuticorin-Tirunelveli owned by Kuttam Solar Power Project (KSPP).
“The land block is rich in beach sand minerals with 36 percent heavy mineral concentration and an estimated 142 lakh tonnes of deposit, including 15-22 percent ilmenite,” read the proposal submitted by Kerala, accessed by ThePrint.
Kerala has also suggested a joint venture to mine in Tamil Nadu, with KMML holding a majority stake. Under the proposed three-way joint venture, KMML will hold 51 percent, KSPP 38 percent, while the remaining 11 percent will be with Tamil Nadu Minerals Ltd (TAMIL) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO).
According to Kerala’s proposal, KMML teams have already conducted site visits, collected samples and concluded that the deposits are economically viable.
“A detailed feasibility report was submitted to the Kerala government in 2023, after which KMML held meetings with Tamil Nadu’s Industries Secretary and Commissioner of Geology and Mining in 2023,” the proposal read.
Sources in the industry department said Tamil Nadu was open to the proposal, but made it clear that both mining and value addition should take place within Tamil Nadu’s borders.
The Kerala government has also asked Tamil Nadu to extend support in two specific areas—recommending a mining lease on the KSSP patta land to the Union government, and allocating Poramboke, or government-owned, land with viable beach sand mineral deposits for KMML operations.
For this, Kerala has proposed a separate joint venture between KMML and TAMIL to run beach sand mining leases on the lines of the existing Indian Rare Earth Ltd (IREL).
A Tamil Nadu’s industries department official, who was part of the meeting, told ThePrint that the process is at an early stage, but did not want to comment on the beach sand mining.
Kerala’s Industries Principal Secretary A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, who was also part of the meeting, did not reveal details about the beach sand mining proposal, but confirmed that a proposal has been submitted for a collaboration between Kerala’s KMML and a Tamil Nadu company, which is yet to be decided.
“There are only two PSUs in the country in the minerals sector and both are in Kerala. One is IREL and the second is KMML. IREL does only mineral separation. KMML does value addition. So, with the assistance of the Tamil Nadu government, extensive possibilities are there in terms of mineral recovery, value addition, and maximisation of revenue. It has to be done in Tamil Nadu. For that, they require our technical expertise,” Muhammed Hanish told ThePrint.
Inter-state partnership to materialise in two months
Apart from beach sand mining, the Kerala government has also proposed a collaboration between two of its PSUs—Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTROL) and Malabar Cements—with Tamil Nadu PSUs, which have not yet been decided.
“KELTROL has proposed traffic management systems, which have been very enthusiastically received by the Tamil Nadu government. They are already on track with it and lined up discussions with Tamil Nadu Police. A centre of excellence in AI-based governance has been proposed by KELTRON,” Hanish told ThePrint.
Hanish also said that an MoU is likely to be signed between KMML and TAMIN, but did not reveal details.
“Malabar Cements requires raw materials and an MoU to be signed with some of the strong PSUs like TAMIN,” Hanish told ThePrint.
“We wanted to learn from Tamil Nadu’s investment promotion model to professionalise our own systems,” he said. “There are extensive possibilities in minerals, EVs, AI-driven governance, and wildlife technology. Let us see how the collaboration evolves.”
Tamil Nadu, in turn, has expressed interest in Kerala’s AI-driven traffic enforcement systems, and digital governance, tourism collaborations, and startup exchanges.
A Tamil Nadu industry department official, who was part of the meeting, said that they have also sought guidance on the tourism and healthcare sectors.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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