Focus is on jobs while attracting investments: TN industry minister

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has had a good deal of success when it comes to attracting investments, says state’s minister for industries, investment promotion and commerce T.R.B. Rajaa. The state prefers companies that can create jobs quickly and Rajaa believes that due to its infrastructure, talented workforce, and facilities, Tamil Nadu faces little competition from other states. In an interview with Mint, Rajaa discusses the state's strengths and its preference for investments that can generate significant employment opportunities. Edited excerpts:

The recently concluded Global Investors Meet in Tamil Nadu generated MoUs worth ₹6.64 trillion. What is the state doing to ground these investments?

From the beginning, our focus has been on jobs more than the quantum of investments. We prefer companies that will definitely come and create jobs quickly. The GIM (Global Investors Meet) is only a starting point. We will only succeed when all this turns into actual jobs. It is already happening. Take the case of VinFast’s integrated electric vehicle facility at Thoothukudi. The MoU was signed at the GIM in the first week of January and the groundbreaking happened on 25 February. 

We have formed a special committee that will periodically meet and review the progress of the 631 MoUs that have been signed at GIM. We will consider the meet a success only if all the investments worth ₹6.64 trillion come in, and 26,90,657 jobs are created.

How strong is the competition between states to attract investments?

There is little competition for Tamil Nadu with the kind of infrastructure, talent pool, and other facilities the state offers. We have a robust education system and can give the industry the talent it wants. The work ethic is high and attrition levels are low compared to other states.

But you lost Micron Technology’s investment at the last moment...

It's their loss, not mine. You ask Micron if they're happy today. I'll leave it at that. I am not desperate like any other state. If they want to throw incentives as high as 70-80% of the project cost, that is fine. I am not playing that game. I will only give what is possible.

Is it a disadvantage to not be a part of the ruling dispensation at the Centre?

I have an investment commitment worth ₹6.64 trillion at the GIM to prove that wrong. As long as you have the talent, power does not matter.

What yardstick do you apply to attract investment?

I had mentioned jobs earlier. We are clear that investments should bring jobs. Also, we want to build on existing strengths. For instance, Tamil Nadu has a good electrolyzer MSME eco-system already. So, the shift to green hydrogen is easy considering that the state is big on renewable energy. We also look for new sectors like technical textiles to build on the state’s traditional strengths. We are very clear about building something that will last. We also support existing players. Hyundai is an example. It is reinvesting here. You will see new industries coming and old industries reinvesting. Existing players are our brand ambassadors.

You are also focussing on creating value-added jobs?

Tamil Nadu has always worked towards being a knowledge economy. And we are building on that. We are creating an entire Knowledge City where we want to have all the top universities in the world. We have the highest number of researchers in the country and more than half of them are women. We want the entire research to happen here and when that happens, you build patents. We want to see more patents coming out of Tamil Nadu. We are already number one in India today with over 9,000 plus patents. We are adding centres of excellence across the state. 

All these will create value-added jobs. If you want to take the blue-collar jobs anywhere else, please do. Give me all the high-end jobs, like high-end chip design. We have the best engineers for that. Why do you think global majors are setting up their global capability centres (GCCs) in Tamil Nadu. In the recent state budget, we have allocated funds for incentivizing high-end jobs.

TN is also pioneering industrial housing on a large scale...

When we brought in all these big electronic manufacturers, they were looking for a large number of young women workers who were nimble-handed. Many women were ready to stay away from their families and work. Dormitories were the automatic choice. When China went through similar phase worker experiences were not good. We wanted to make sure that that doesn't happen here in Chennai. So that's why the state started building dormitories.

Industrialization of southern districts of Tamil Nadu was always a challenge. How do you approach it?

Earlier there was no political will and clarity on how to implement industrialization. Thanks to decades of focus on education across the state, you can go to any part of any corner of Tamil Nadu and still find people who can work for you. Now the government is primed to get investments to these areas. I tell investors to point a location on the map and we will give you enough people to work. The government will be incentivizing people who go down south.

As someone tracking investments closely, do you see ‘China plus one’ strategy actually working?

It is huge. I think this is India's decade, if not the century. I've been telling everyone that Tamil Nadu is going to be the engine that's going to power India into the future. Luckily for us, anybody who comes to India, the first door they knock on is ours. The state has a stable government that respects investors and safeguards their interests.