A high-power delegation led by TN Minister of Industry, Thangam Thennarasu, recently attended the World Economic Forum meet at Davos. This is the first time such a delegation from Tamil Nadu visited Davos.
Tamil Nadu has been accounting for a significant share of the foreign direct investments flowing into the
country. In a recent issue IE pointed to such large investments made in the state in high-end electronics, solar power, electric vehicles…
S Krishnan, Additional Chief Secretary, Industry, a member of the delegation described the exploratory visit that proved very fruitful: “Tamil Nadu increased its visibility at the forum, represented by several countries by their policymakers and CEOs. Our visit reinforced the purpose of promoting the state. There was also satisfaction over the positive impressions on the state of development and attainments of Tamil Nadu.”
Krishnan cited an instance: engineering giant Dassault that innovated the manufacturing software Catia was in appreciation of the wide familiarity of the software by the skilled employees of Tamil Nadu.
Several industrially advanced states of the country including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh had sent high power delegations and presented their strengths to attract current technologies and investments.
Krishnan said that TN’s focus included renewable energy, where the state is ranked first and several other advanced technologies.
“The difficulties faced by China in recent months impacted the reliability of the supply chain. Ensuring such reliability is crucial to global inter-dependence on supplies. We pointed to several prospective investors that even during the peak Covid pandemic, India allowed businesses to continue with their operations,” said Krishnan.
ADVANCED MANUFACTURING HUB…
Guidance Tamil Nadu has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to establish India’s first Advanced Manufacturing Hub (AMHUB). The AMHUB members include the USA, Denmark, Spain and Brazil. TN is the only state from South Asia that has signed an MoU with the WEF for setting, the AMHUB, said Krishnan.
Already a good deal of work has been made in this area. TIDCO has set up two Centres of Excellence along with Siemens, Dassault Systems and GE Aviation at Rs 200 crore each. A common Facility Centre (CFC) has been set up at Tiruchi along with the Tiruchirapalli Engineering and Technology Cluster (TREAT) where common facilities of hi-tech equipment are provided for MSMEs.
The state had a dedicated pavilion at the Davos summit. The delegation showcased the industrial climate of the state and interacted with investors and other business and industrial groups that participated in the WEF.
BACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACY
Tamil Nadu thus made a good impact through backchannel diplomacy. The delegation pointed to the state preferred by technology leaders for making handsome investments in several hi-tech sectors like solar power, semiconductors, power storage technologies, electric vehicles…
There is also the interest on technologies that address concerns of ecology and sustainability. The delegation pointed to over 50 per cent of the state’s installed power capacity coming from green sources like solar and wind. Minister of Industry, Thangam Thennarasu, pointed to Tamil Nadu’s diversified manufacturing base and the state setting a goal of building a trillion-dollar economy through the decade – nearly four times the present size of its economy. An important role has been set for the manufacturing sector which is expected to contribute a fourth – $ 250 billion – through its strong and diversified manufacturing base for auto components, automobiles, textiles, electronics…
The minister and a few officials visited the Hanover Fair in Germany. The Industry Secretary took time to visit Vienna reputed for hi-tech engineering, waste treatment…
Tamil Nadu seems to have begun well in its first participation at the WEF meet. Such efforts need to be continuous in apprising prospective investors across the globe on the special strengths of the state in terms of infrastructure, stable administration and copious availability of educated and skilled manpower.
