Gopal Srinivasan, CMD, TVS Capital
B Santhanam, CEO at Saint-Gobain Asia Pacific & India, exemplifies the vision for TN. In 2006 he said: “Tamil Nadu is a state of mind.” It means two things. One is the way you feel, the ethos, ambiance and gestalt of the place. Equally I think, he meant the mind or the intellectual capability that powers Tamil Nadu.
The state has announced the i-Tamil Nadu Technology (iTNT) hub in the budget with nearly Rs 55 crore funding. This hub will co-ordinate the use of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning and block chain in solving complex challenges. I think the T there stands for Talent and talent defines this state.
The future is calling us through the symphony of the start-up world. Start-ups exemplify the same things as in the 1950s and the 1960s, when groups like Amalgamations, TVS and Murugappas established the beachheads for industrialisation in Chennai; other groups did this across the state. Today the equivalent movement is in the area of start-ups.
Last year, Tamil Nadu accounted for only 5 per cent of the total Venture Capital (VC funding. We have only two or three unicorns; but 30 per cent of Bangalore’s talent comes from Tamil Nadu. I look at this positive side. We have the talent. We have to make the talent feel welcome here. We need to think on the lines of, how do we make TN the most attractive place for diverse talent, regardless of origin, to come, stay and work here. If Ukrainians have to choose a place after the war, they should choose us. We need to make people feel welcome and fully integrate with the Indian ethos and national fabric. This will make us mainstream in attracting talent. We can also focus on places like Coimbatore, Hosur and Madurai for this to happen.
Unless the start-up economy is fired up, we will not get the FDI or the VC. If we can make the Yadhum oore yaavarum kelir happen, we will be able to attract the best talent. We need to put this into actual reality through our social policy, infrastructure… In the next two-three years when India attracts 150 billion dollars of VC inflow, at least 20–25 billion dollars should be attracted by Tamil Nadu.
