Role of the State Government in Development

The pattern of industrial growth described in this chapter did not happen on its own — it has been supported, over a long period, by deliberate state-government efforts to build industrial infrastructure and attract investment.

Tamil Nadu's state industrial-promotion agencies have long played a role in developing planned industrial estates and industrial corridors — areas with pre-built infrastructure such as roads, power, and water supply — that made it easier for both large and small industrial units to set up operations across different parts of the state, rather than concentrating investment only in and around Chennai. This kind of planned industrial infrastructure is a general and long-standing function of state governments in India, and Tamil Nadu is generally regarded as having pursued it with more consistency than many other states. …