The forthcoming Global Investors Meeting (GIM) to be held in Chennai on January 7 and 8, 2024 will not just be about numbers but will focus on jobs. The State’s Industry Minister TRB Rajaa said that Tamil Nadu is looking to grow as a knowledge hub and that will be the focus area.

“Knowledge assimilation and building a society based on knowledge alone is much more valuable than bringing in low-value jobs and lakhs of crores of investment. Globally, the game is shifting towards this. We will be interested in creating more patents than getting more lakhs of crore of investment,” he told the media after a tour of the three Centres of Excellence set up by Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation at Tidel Park.

The forthcoming GIM will celebrate knowledge, with the best minds in the world coming together and the event will provide a platform for the youngsters to listen to them on where the world is going, he said. “When we make our youngsters move to the next level, the investment will automatically come in,” he added.

“The focus will certainly be on GIM attracting investment of ₹3 lakh crore; ₹5 lakh crore or ₹10 lakh crore. These kinds of investments will always come. However, for us what is important is what kind of knowledge growth the investment is bringing in. For example, how do we make this the cutting-edge EV cell chemistry capital? How do you get that value chain added? How to develop human capital for these are the focus for us,” he said.

Huge roadblock

To a query on why new companies in the last two years have been set up in and around Chennai and in the western districts, and not gone beyond the river Cauvery, the minister said this is a huge roadblock for the State. Rajaa said that in and around Chennai, the situation is vibrant. In Coimbatore, there are all the requirements to bring in the investment but the land is not there. There are many issues related to land, and some are politically motivated. The local population should start talking about this, he said.

“The Delta region is an area where the Chief Minister, MK Stalin, has asked us to focus completely. We are trying to push a major firm to go to the South. However, logistics matters if you go down to the South,” he said. “Before GIM, you will see a lot of investment going to southern Tamil Nadu,” he added.

On the status of the Ford plant at Maraimalai Nagar, the minister said, “It is my pet project. There is going to be a very good outcome very soon.”

On Foxconn looking at Tamil Nadu for its Electric Vehicle project, the minister was non-committal. Incidentally, V Lee, Foxconn Representative in India, in a social media post said, “Foxconn is exploring EV opportunities with a few States in India, including Tamil Nadu.”

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