Come rain or shine, business will boom

The year 2015 will be forever etched in Chennai’s memory as the year of the disaster. The flash floods of December impacted almost everybody in different ways.

Business has taken a major hit. Will it revive? To see how we can rebuild ourselves, let us take a look at another event which also defined the city. In the aftermath of the floods, everybody has forgotten about the first ever Global Investors Meet (GIM) conducted by the state government in Chennai, in September. 

Nobody thought it would take place because it got postponed thrice. The meet was cancelled after Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s conviction in the disproportionate assets case in September. Without her, such a meet would not have been possible as she is emblematic of the state. But then she was acquitted and took over her official duties again. She pulled out all stops to make the event a spectacular success. 

A visibly happy CM announced at the end of the two-day meet that the state had received Rs 2.42 lakh crore worth of investments – what was expected was half the amount. Jayalalithaa proved the opposition and her sceptics wrong. “Our government is committed to making Tamil Nadu a new growth model among Indian states. I invite all of you to be our partners in realising my vision of making Tamil Nadu the Numero Uno among Indian states in all spheres of development,” said her invitation. The industry was excited about the growth prospects.   

There were nine partner countries, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, Singapore and UK, taking part in the GIM. The US came with the representatives of 15 companies while UK showcased products, services and technologies from 30 of their companies. It was attended by over 4,000 delegates. 

Captains of the industry from all over the country and Tamil Nadu made a beeline for Chennai. The city is the base for three global auto majors, Ford, Hyundai, and Nissan. There are many auto component companies, global and local, in all the industrial estates of the city. Chennai is also a major player in the IT industry and is literally the retail capital of the country. 

When Chennai got submerged under water, all its industries were affected. The auto companies shut down their operations for a couple of days. The IT firms suspended work as power connections were lost. They suffered loss of machinery, employees were stranded and premises got flooded. Many retailers, big and small, lost their merchandise.  

The worst affected were the small-scale industries as they had no insurance. The larger ones have resumed operations. However, questions are being raised about whether the promised investment will come to Chennai? Nobody thinks the investors will pull out. Most global cities have faced a crisis at some point. Take the example of the twin towers in New York or Mumbai, after the 26/11 terrorist attacks, or even the recent shootout in Paris. 

The people of Chennai are entrepreneurial and hard working. Citizens have gotten back on their feet, supply chains have resumed. With adequate support from the government, the spirit of Chennai will triumph.