'Talent pool, infra, policy continuity make state an industrial powerhouse'

"State to choose investors based on quality of jobs to be created," said T R B Rajaa, TN industries minister, at the Business Standard Tamil Nadu Round Table 2023

A huge talent pool, better infrastructure and enabling ecosystem, along with policy continuity, are some of the key factors making Tamil Nadu an industrial hub, the state’s industries minister, T R B Rajaa, said at the Business Standard Tamil Nadu Round Table 2023 on Monday.
 

At a time when Tamil Nadu is preparing to attract fresh investments with a global investors meet next month, the summit, held in Chennai, showcased the state’s growth story and plans for the future.

Asked about the drivers of the state’s industrial growth, Rajaa said: “First, it’s the talent pool. We are the talent powerhouse of India, producing around 150,000 engineers annually. With such abundant talent, the industrial ecosystem flourishes naturally. Now, we are also tailoring that talent to industry’s needs.” Infrastructure and single-window clearance have also acted as catalysts, he said.

Rajaa highlighted policy continuity as another major attraction for industry. “Despite regime changes, Tamil Nadu has consistently adhered to policy continuity. Each regime aims to improve conditions for industry. Investors view this as a big positive.”

The state, already an industrialised one, and number one in areas like electronics, is not looking at production-linked incentives, he indicated. “We had $5.37 billion worth of (electronics) exports last year. Now we are pushing for $8 billion in 2023-24.”

On investments, Rajaa said the state would be choosy. "When we give incentives, we will choose who invests and what kind of jobs are created.”

Talking about “the Dravidian economy” in a fireside chat at the summit, the minister pointed out that inclusivity, diversity, equitable growth and redistributed growth were the main drivers of the model.

The summit, called ‘Tamil Nadu: India’s Rising Industrial Power’ also featured two other sessions. The first, focusing on the state as India’s advanced manufacturing hub, saw participation from Hyundai Motor India, Nokia, Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation and Refex Group. The second, a panel discussion on how fintech and global capacity centres (GCCs) are driving innovation, had participants from Walmart, World Bank, Indian Bank, Yubi, Kaleidofin and BRK Soft.

Rajaa also spoke about the goals to improve facilities for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector, moving towards being a knowledge economy, and becoming a research & development hub. “We are coming up with a knowledge city in Chennai. We will see some big players coming to the city by the end of next year.” The state is reported to be planning the Tamil Nadu Knowledge City (TKC) on 1,424 acres in Uthukottai taluk and Vengal village in Tiruvallur district.

Highlighting the state’s inclusive growth, the minister said 43 per cent of all women working in India were from Tamil Nadu. “These are enablers of economic growth. They are competing with any developed country in the world. As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, we look at inclusion of all people.”

The state, which has around 40,000 factories, is looking to scale up advanced manufacturing. "No other state comes anywhere close,” the minister said, adding: “We are really good at manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing.”