Tamil Nadu Finance Minister, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan is right in saying if at all there is any model in the country that states, particularly backward and north Indian states should adopt, it is the Tamil Nadu Model of development which is not only balanced but also sustainable for the overall development of the states and the country. This is because Tamil Nadu got it right on long-term and fundamental issues since 1920s, which was only fine-tuned since independence.

NITI Aayog in all its three editions on sustainable development goals (SDG) have one common feature – Tamil Nadu finishing on top with regard to Goal one that is “No Poverty”. It is not that Tamil Nadu did not have poverty in the past. Sustained social development particularly in education and health besides the universal noon meal scheme started in the 1980s have ensured that there was no malnutrition coupled with reasonably good education. This has also ensured that the state had a reservoir of skilled manpower resulting in all industries, domestic and foreign, queuing up to set up shop in the state since liberalization of the economy in 1991.

There is now one thing that state should concentrate is to move away from quantity to quality in education. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor stressed the need for improving quality of education and not just concentrate on quantity when he briefly served as Minister of state in Human Resource Development ministry during UPA regime. In this context it would be appropriate for state to encourage NEET rather than opposing it to get political mileage. This will help the medical students in the state to become competitive and learn to compete with the best in the rest of the country. Weaker sections and backward classes needed to be uplifted but it should not be at the cost of quality and the state would do well to prepare them to face competition rather than keep them sub-standard.

The latest and third edition of SDG by NITI Aayog indicates that even Kerala, the number one state in the implementation of all the SDGs occupies the third rank, trailing behind Tamil Nadu’s score of 86 by three marks. Two other southern and neighbouring states Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka that are much bigger than Tamil Nadu in area and natural resources are behind the state. One of the reasons: Tamil Nadu is the best administered state in the country.

As a result schemes, particularly those meant for social development, have been implemented well. Former Kerala chief secretary, S M Vijayaanand, who had served in Union rural development and panchayat raj ministry for number of years, says schemes are well implemented in Tamil Nadu because it has sound development administration particularly at the district level. This also ensures that fruits of various development and welfare schemes reached the intended beneficiaries in a big way. Preliminary report of Gandhigram Rural Institute study on implementation of MNREGA in 12 districts during Covid pandemic indicate the efficacy of implementation as well as in ensuring food security in the state.

Apart from social development, Tamil Nadu does not lag behind in industrial development. The state is described as manufacturing hub of India accounting for 17 per cent of India’s GDP and 16 per cent of jobs in the country. It is the second most developed state in the country. The state industrial planning is well thought out and right from 1950s, several industrial clusters were set up by successive governments to encourage hub and spoke model wherein a large industry is surrounded by a cluster of small scale industries. This model also ensured that it encouraged competition and specialization besides creating large-scale employment.

Though the state has large number of hi-tech industries including IT and IT enabled services, it is also endowed with equally large number of labour-intensive industries like textiles. One third of spinning mills in the country are located in Tamil Nadu. It occupies number one position in auto and auto parts industries. Connectivity and logistic advantages with quality infrastructure enabled the state to be preferred destination for auto, IT and electronics industries.

The state achieved inclusive growth because of doing several of the basic things right by successive governments resulting in long-term development of state. The good thing that had happened in Tamil Nadu is that fundamental issues were handled well since 1920s and continuity of right policies, according to Planivel Thiaga Rajan. Now Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has proposed to make Tamil Nadu a $one trillion economy by 2030 accounting for nearly one fifth of the Indian economy, which is expected to grow to a $5 trillion by then. (IPA Service)