BS Tamil Nadu Round Table to discuss future of manufacturing, GCC on Monday

In sync with Tamil Nadu’s aspirational target of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030-31, the manufacturing sector is making waves through use of innovative technologies. But the state is not restricting its ambition to manufacturing alone and is going all out to ensure that new-age sectors such as fintech and global capability centers (GCC) are also key drivers of the growth process.

To capture the unique growth story of Tamil Nadu, Business Standard is hosting a marquee event — Tamil Nadu Round Table 2023 — in Chennai on Monday.

The prestigious event, revolving around the theme of Tamil Nadu: India’s Rising Industrial Power, will have industries minister T R B Rajaa as the chief guest. He’s expected to take the audience through the fascinating journey that Tamil Nadu has undertaken with special emphasis on industry 4.0 in advanced manufacturing to achieve chief minister M K Stalin’s vision of a $1 trillion economy. With the manufacturing sector constituting around 33 per cent of the state’s gross domestic product, the attempt now is to leapfrog to the next stage.

The Business Standard event will see authoritative voices from diverse companies such as Nokia, Hyundai and more  highlight the prospects and challenges in making Tamil Nadu a hub for India’s advanced manufacturing, as the topic for the first panel discussion of the day suggests.   
 

The summit, through its second panel discussion, will bring to the audience the various nuances of GCCs. There’s a strong presence of GCCs or offshore units of multinationals in Chennai, and some of the big names including Walmart and World Bank will share their views on the subject at the summit, making it a stellar show.

Some of the rising stars of the fintech sector will also talk about the innovation that they are steering and how everything is adding up to Tamil Nadu’s new future. The session will see participation from Indian Bank, Kaleidofin, and Yubi too. The unprecedented response of the industry to the panel discussion on Rising Stars: GCCs and Fintech Driving Innovation is sure to make it a must-watch session.

The BS event, which will bring together top leaders from the industry and the Tamil Nadu government, will be  webcast live on https://www.business-standard.com/. You can watch it live starting 9:45 am on December 18 or see the recordings later, both on the BS website and YouTube. 
 

This comes at a time when the state is geared to strengthen its presence as an electronics exporter by crossing the $8 billion mark in 2023-24, up about 49 per cent from $5.37 billion last year. During the year, it is already a top exporter in the country, touching $4.8 billion. Of the total exports from India, Tamil Nadu is  contributing an astounding 31 per cent. Some of this growth is attributed to the ‘China Plus One’ strategy adopted by global majors, especially Apple.

The key contractors of Apple like Foxconn and Pegatron, as well as suppliers like Salcomp, have played a major role in establishing Tamil Nadu as an electronic hub. Beyond electronics, existing strongholds like the automobile sector too are embracing advanced manufacturing at a faster clip.

The state, through its upcoming India Centre for Advanced Manufacturing in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), is all set to support high end innovation, promote new business models and develop digital transformation for manufacturing companies.
 

Interestingly, the upcoming flagship event of the state — Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet — scheduled in Chennai on January 7 and 8, will feature the future of manufacturing as well as GCC and fintech as among the main subjects. Ahead of the investors’ meet, the BS summit is setting the ground for some of the important talking points, with Tamil Nadu at the centre of it all.