Tamil Nadu will focus on becoming the knowledge capital of India and concentrate more on research and development in the future, Industries Minister T.R.B. Rajaa said in Chennai on Tuesday.
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Delivering the keynote address at the Tamil Nadu Unlimited summit, organised by The Hindu in association with Guidance Tamil Nadu, he said, “We want to stop brain drain and give individuals the facility to learn and research here.”
Stating that the government wanted to ensure the State sees the biggest progression in the most sustainable way, he said, “the Global Investors Meet 2024 is going to be a huge step forward – this is about knowledge sharing and listening to amazing minds.” Mr. Rajaa invited industry representatives gathered at the event to be a part of the State’s biggest event in January 2024.
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The State has grown leaps and bounds in industrial growth. “From agriculture we are now making parts for jets and making drones. This is not going to stop,” he said.
“Tamil Nadu was one of the first States to bring in TIDCO in 1965. We have 40,000 factories. And our MSME sector again is a huge vibrant society. We are about 9.47% of the GDP of India. And 16% of FDI in 2022-23 came into Tamil Nadu,” the Minister said.
Mr. Rajaa said the textile industry is a huge legacy and now “we are moving into the technical textile sector. This will be a $50 billion market in the next five years in India alone.”
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“The world knows our automobile story - Ashok Leyland and TVS and many other big names stuck to Chennai for a long run and the amazing talent that came along made us the automobile capital of India and now we are the EV capital of India,” he noted.
Besides, places like Perambalur and Ariyalur which were backward regions are now witnessing phenomenal growth. The State had excellent manpower down south and in the delta region and a growing women workforce. “This is the Dravidian model. We have distributed growth,” he said.
Earlier, Mr. Rajaa released a coffee table book published by The Hindu titled ‘Tamil Nadu Unlimited’. The Hindu Group CEO L.V. Navaneeth handed over a copy of the book to the Minister, Industries Secretary V. Arun Roy and Guidance MD and CEO Vishnu Venugopal.
The summit was powered by Veranda Learning and the State Bank of India (SBI). VFS Global, Nippo, and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), Chennai, were the associate sponsors. Sify Technologies joined in as the digital transformation partner; Nippon Paint was the colour partner and the Avtar Group was the diversity partner. MIOT International was the healthcare partner. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) was the industry partner for the event, while Tamil Nadu Tourism was the tourism partner. Puthiya Thalaimurai was the TV partner.