Stalin govt to rope in NRI Tamilians in bid to achieve $1-trn economy goal

List of globally known Tamil-origin people includes Google's Sunder Pichai, former Pepsico chief Indra Nooyi and Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan

To achieve the goal of a $1-trillion economy by 2030, the Tamil Nadu government is now looking to tap investments from Tamil communities abroad--including top business honchos, Tamil diaspora, welfare associations and trade bodies.

The list of Tamil-origin people who made their mark in the global corporate arena includes the likes of Sunder Pichai of Google, former Pepsico chief Indra Nooyi and Novartis chief executive officer Vasant Narasimhan. The government has set up a separate advisory committee chaired by industries minister Thangam Thennarasu.

The state is also planning to come out with a separate platform for interaction with the global Tamil community and to address their investment-related queries. It will also appoint investment ambassadors in various countries, address the issues of non-resident Tamilians, handhold investors and hold an annual cultural event.  

"We already had an introductory meeting on Thursday. From $300 billion to $1 trillion we need a growth rate of around 15 per cent (per annum). We have to focus on creating 3,000 to 4,000 start-ups so that Tamil Nadu, which has about 150 major brands, becomes home to 300 more brands in the next ten years," said Suresh Sambandam, chief executive officer of SaaS major KissFlow, who is a member of the advisory panel.  

Other members include R Rangaswami, founder and chairman of the board of Indiaspora (a network of global Indian-origin leaders), Bala Swaminathan, president of Bala Family Foundation and secretary, Elanchezhian Loganathan, Chief Executive Officer of Yaal Exports; Ganesh Radhakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer, Wharfedale Technologies; Saravanan M Sinapan, president of DHRRA, Malaysia; M. Arumugam, Chief Executive Officer of  Broadline Computer Systems and R M Arun, president, SICCI Tamil Nadu, are part of the panel.