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‘Major rebranding imperative to revive TN’s business image’
While everyone has an opinion and is vocal enough to express it, there is quite a bit of gloom about TN’s ability to bounce back and regain its sheen to be reckoned as top-notch investment destination.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
That Tamil Nadu has always been an investment hotspot is known. Having attracted global manufacturing and IT/ITES players with copious investments post-liberalisation, it came as a shocker when the state slipped to 18th place in the Ease of Doing Business in India report!
As causes for the ‘dent’ are coming out dime a dozen, now is the time to find out the factors that were influential in making it a top destination. Historical data will show that with efforts from policymakers and image enhancement can lead to a significant improvement in the ranking reflecting the level of investments the state is attracting. However, the idea is not to discuss about various initiatives the state should take to improve its ranking but to discuss about the end goal – where should the focus of TN be in terms of future investments and sectors. It is essential to highlight certain facts to set the context.
TN must reinvent itself in its narrative of strengths and its relative position. In any national discussion, reference is provided to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. No city from TN is cited for being best in class. This requires enhancing Brand TN, as it is generally seen that both at people as well as policy level there is a general tendency not to advertise achievements. There is story to be told about and taking that narrative to national and international level is the responsibility of the government as well as its people.
Solutions have to necessarily factor in the condition that TN will face first world conditions of shrinking and aging population, higher demand supply gap in labour and middle income country status in a developing country where large states like UP and Bihar will be far below the national income and development levels. Similarly, from an aspiration standpoint, citizens are increasingly benchmarking their expectation on par with first-world countries due to increased exposure. Solutions will therefore have to be designed to be best in class global benchmarks making comparisons with other states irrelevant. So, what should TN do to reinvent itself? There are multiple initiatives needed to bring about solutions, which are discussed at length in the infographic (see box).
MEASURES TO HELP REPOSITION THE STATE AS AN INVESTMENT HUB
- Position Tamil Nadu as a clean energy state where the initiative runs across every aspect of the electricity ecosystem and also take the lead in making the transportation sector in the city green. For comparison, California in the USA is seen as a leader in legislations that are environment friendly.
- A world class state requires world class cities. TN, already a leader in urbanisation, needs 2-3 world-class cities to drive growth. That means worldclass transportation which also includes world-class airports. Not only is that critical but also imperative given that TN leads in the number of tourists (domestic and international) visiting India.
- Improve quality of education to making it more skill and knowledge based. TN has the quantitative infrastructure to impart education to its youth but requires significant upgrade to obtain leadership, ease of using global communication language and industry-relevant skills.
- TN with its strengths should focus on sunrise sectors like Electronics manufacturing, Aerospace & Defence and Transportation & Logistics, Food processing and light engineering.
- R&D focus, employment – India imports most of its toys and branded furniture. Given the growing need to create jobs in organised sectors, these two areas offer immense potential from manufacturing, job creation, research, design and various other activities given the aesthetic elements.
- With its well-developed medical infrastructure, TN should look at creating a Medical city to focus on R&D, world class hospitals and education. It will also require infrastructure to meet medical tourism needs.
- Leverage on TN position in culture, arts, handicrafts, cinema to create a Culture city that can customise infrastructure to nurture music, dance and cultural heritage for artists across India and world.
- TN has a rich legacy in sports like Chennai Open in tennis, MRF pace academy to name a few. Sportspersons from here have excelled in multiple disciplines. Leveraging the well-developed infrastructure for sport medicine, building a Sports City akin to Medical City can help in driving up investments.
- Building and propagating brands are crucial. The magic of Kanjeevaram saris, Madras checks and Bleeding Madras shirts have to be revived, tailoring it to suit the generation of today.
- Start-ups, technology, R&D firms need to be encouraged to invest in India. With improved quality of education and skillsets, TN can become the default choice for companies.
- While there may be many areas that the state can identify and develop, collective efforts are necessary to make TN regain its lost glory and position.
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