Tamil Nadu's Manufacturing Lead Rests on Research, Tech

Tamil Nadu is the second largest contributor to India's gross domestic product and it is expected to be a key beneficiary of the so-called China plus one trade, getting investments from international manufacturers of electronics, automobiles, and consumer goods.

- BS REPORTER

At a panel discussion on 'Redefining Manufacturing: The Power of Policy' during the Business Standard Tamil Nadu Round Table 2025 in Chennai on March 12, experts spoke about the sector's future in the state and the changes it is going through. The panelists argued that Tamil Nadu should not compete with Indian states, but with the United States (US) and China to realize its ambition of being a knowledge economy. Manufacturing contributed around 24 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in FY24. The panel discussion comprised R Srinivasan, full-time member of the State Planning Commission; Gopala Krishnan C S, chief manufacturing officer of Hyundai Motor India; Brajesh Kumar Singh, executive director of Indian Bank; Mahesh Babu, chief executive officer of Switch Mobility; and Anil Jain, managing director of Refex Group.

One suggestion the panel had for the state was to promote research and development to create manufacturing products over the next decade.

Strengthening manufacturing Tamil Nadu's urban infrastructure makes it attractive to global investors. "Non-farm activity spread throughout the state even a thousand years ago. We found in the 2011 Census that, on average, a village in Tamil Nadu is hardly 10 km from a town. So, almost every village is as much a town in terms of the non-farm employment within that village itself," said Srinivasan.