Tamil Nadu : Success Glows Brightly, And Quietly ……
By Sunitha Srinivasan
Somerset Maugham once remarked, “It’s a funny thing about life, if you will accept nothing but the best, you very often get it.” This sentiment aptly captures the remarkable success that the state of Tamil Nadu has been experiencing in recent times. Governing a state is much like a game of chess—sometimes you make wrong moves, but there are times when your strategy is spot on! One key decision that the Tamil Nadu leadership has undeniably gotten right is the tactical empanelment of some of the world’s sharpest minds. By leveraging their knowledge and expertise, Tamil Nadu has propelled itself onto a path of sustainable and steady growth, setting a benchmark for progressive governance.
A measure of the success that they have achieved has been recognised by Christophe Jaffrelot the well-known French political scientist and Indologist who has compared three Indian states and come to the conclusion that “It is interesting to see that if there is a model in India today it is Tamil Nadu. Here is a state that has almost eradicated poverty, industrialised at a high pace and where services are taking over from industry.” He attributes Tamil Nadu’s success at least in some measure to the state has consistently investing in social welfare, particularly health care and education. Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, Tamil Nadu increased its healthcare spending by 20.5%. In 2021-22, the state maintained its focus on human development by investing between 4.9% and 6% in the social sector.
Over 80% of the population in Tamil Nadu is literate, and this figure is on the rise,
aided by a combination of government incentives and the mindset of the Tamil people. Who has not come across a maid or a driver who works multiple jobs to ensure that their children get a good education? From the beginning of time, Tamilians have placed a high value on education – an attitude that is paying off in spades! Then, there are the government inducements. How can anyone forget that the mid-day meal scheme was started in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s by Chief Minister K Kamaraj to lure children from the lesser privileged sections of society to school? This emphasis on education has, in turn, nurtured a scientific temper and a culture of creativity among many of its citizens, leading to remarkable innovations quietly taking shape across various pockets of the state. In their book, Breaking the Mould, Dr Raghuram Rajan and Rohit Lamba highlight an inspiring example of this spirit—Agnikul, a pioneering startup operating out of IIT Madras. Specializing in the development of small rockets with a payload capacity of up to 100 kg using cutting-edge 3D printing technology, Agnikul exemplifies Tamil Nadu’s innovation-driven ecosystem. The company was founded by an alumnus of IIT Madras, guided by one of his former professors, showcasing the powerful synergy between academia and entrepreneurship.
Rather early on, the state leadership recognised that a healthy populace was key to a thriving economy which is why they have paid heed to strengthening health care. The budget allocation for health and family welfare in 2024-25 is Rs 20,198 crore, up from Rs 18,661 crore in the previous year. The private sector has also played a huge part in spreading affordable health care to all sections of the population. Two of the country’s leading hospitals are in the state. The Christian Medical College (CMC) Hospital was founded in Vellore in 1900 by a missionary – Dr Ida Scudder in a room in her parents’ bungalow – her parents and grandparents had served as missionaries in India. Her objective was to provide healthcare to women and children. Today the various hospitals under the CMC umbrella serve around 3000 patients a day. Some are treated free while others pay according to their means. Yet another community hospital is Aravind Hospital in Madurai. It was founded in 1976 by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy. Currently, there are Aravind hospitals in almost every part of the country, and they have had a major impact on eradicating cataract-related blindness in India. Here too, patients pay as per their ability, and several are treated free of cost.
The government of Tamil Nadu is also constantly tapping into the knowledge and experience of the brightest minds across the globe to ensure that the state is moving in the right direction. Two of these people are Dr Raghuram Rajan, a highly distinguished economist and the former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Dr Arvind Subramanian who is currently a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC. He was the Chief Economic Advisor to the government of India. Both of them are a part of the Tamil Nadu government’s Economic Advisory Council to the Chief Minister. Incidentally, they are also sons of the soil. As Tamil Nadu has set an ambitious target of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2030-2031, the duo pitched in with their views on how this can be achieved. — high-skilled manufacturing allied to services in the knowledge economy or low-skilled manufacturing which generates a high number of jobs. At the end of the day, it will probably be a combination of both strategies that will help the state leapfrog forward.
What will undoubtedly also play a major role is the state’s pro-business attitude. Dr Subramaniam gives a great example of this. To quote him – “Some states like Tamil Nadu, have been able to take advantage of the China plus one opportunity. In Tamil Nadu, investments have come in from East Asian and domestic investors, and there are lessons from that for what the rest of the country needs to do.”
He goes on the give the example of the Ford Motor Company which left Tamil Nadu three years ago because they felt that they did not have a competitive edge there. The government did everything possible to facilitate its exit. Last year, the company reevaluated its strategy and decided to go back to an emerging market country. Their choice was Tamil Nadu simply because of the great experience they had had during their exit. Reassuring investors, even when they choose to leave the country, seems to be an interesting way to ensure that a state or country is their first port of call should they decide to revise their decision.
To quote Dr. Subramanium again. “That’s the farsightedness and consistency of policy that you require in order to be able to create conditions for private investment. “
Tamil Nadu appears to have embodied both these values in its ethos, which is why the glow of success seems eminently within reach.
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfL5GuOHfjA
http://tnenvis.nic.in/Database/Demography_1168.aspx?format=Print
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDYd_aTwsW0
Breaking The Mould Raghuram Rajan & Rohit Lamba.
