As a third-generation industrialist, Karumuttu T Kannan has been a front-row witness to the industrial and economic growth of Tamil Nadu. Heading the Thiagarajar Mills, Virudhunagar Textile Mills and the Thiagarajar educational institutions, he is a past Chairman of CII (Southern Region).
While appreciating the progress the state has shown in terms of new investments, industrial parks, educational institutions and infrastructure development, Kannan points to large areas of the state with huge potential for industrial development. “Northern regions of Tamil Nadu (due to proximity to Chennai) seem to be attracting a lot of investments and are hence seeing good industrial and economic development. Southern regions of the state require such investment,” he points out.
Need to focus on fabrics
Kannan argues that the textile industry warrants more attention: “of the total 45 million spindles capacity in India, Tamil Nadu has 19 million or 42 per cent. The state (along with Maharashtra and Gujarat) has a strong textile concentration and the mills have been highly productive, generating employment for large numbers of people with basic primary education. The government should work with the private players to strengthen and build on this traditional industry, and incentivise investment in modernisation, and arrest the flight of capital to other states,” he said.
While India is estimated to have the second-largest installed capacity of spindles in the world, its share in quality looms is negligible due to an inability to process yarn at mass scale. This has resulted in spinners exporting yarn and apparel manufacturers importing fabric. Kannan referred to plans of Thiagarajar Mills to invest further in forward integration in the next few years, which would be a much-needed value add.
Thiagarajar Mills has seen good growth and has continually invested in capacity additions and technology upgradation. From 6000 spindles in 1992, current capacity is 56,000 spindles. Improvements in technology have resulted in spindle speed doubling in the last 20 years.
Madurai has been selected as one of the 11 cities in Tamil Nadu that are envisioned to become ‘smart cities’ – using technology and infrastructure to become more sustainable and citizen-centric. The private-public partnership is the way to achieve this, says Kannan. His association and knowledge of the higher education landscape in the state, Kannan stresses the importance of employability. “Across all Thiagarajar educational institutions, we are seeing strong placements. While there continues to be demand for engineering degrees, there’s also a lot of demand for arts, science and commerce courses,” said Kannan.
– V Sangita
