Chief minister's message:
Tamil Nadu has long been India’s pride in the arenas of Culture, Sports, Education, Industry, Arts and many more. This pre-eminence across fields of human pursuit has been possible because of the efforts of successive State Governments to realise the vision of the nation’s founders while celebrating and nurturing the distinct socio-cultural identity of the state’s people.
The State is the second largest economy in India and contributes 8.8% of the national GDP. It has an 80.33% literacy rate, the most number of engineering colleges, and the largest women workforce in the organised sector in the country.
Tamil Nadu leads in higher education enrolment with a Gross Enrolment Rate of 47%, almost double the national average of 28.4%. The State is also the national topper in number of factories and 10% of India’s industrial output comes from Tamil Nadu.
This stellar industrial, economic, social, and educational growth has been achieved in an equitable manner by taking the fruits of success to all sections of the society. Heeding Dravidian idealogue Periyar’s advice that the poor must be helped not by occasional sops but by the removal of poverty, successive Tamil Nadu Governments have pioneered schemes such as reservation for women in local bodies, nutritional Noon-meal and Breakfast Scheme for schoolchildren, free bus rides and honorarium for women that have fostered both human and capital growth, and have been emulated by other States.
Taking inspiration from the golden words of Dravidian stalwart Thiru CN Annadurai that it is in the smile of the poor, we see God, successive Governments in Tamil Nadu have worked for the welfare of minorities, disabled, women, destitute, transgender persons, and the youth.
The State owes this inclusive, multifaceted, all-encompassing growth to the foresight of the founders of the Dravidian movement and its precursor, the Justice Party, who worked with the ideological zeal to give ‘everything for everyone’.
The State has been able to achieve consistent growth on various parameters as it offers a safe and secure environment for businesses by promoting harmony and goodwill among people of different faiths, languages, castes, and culture. The state has been an oasis of peace even when other parts of the nation were in the grip of instability and strife. Built on the idea of a strong egalitarian and inclusive society, Tamil Nadu will continue to make rapid strides to achieve the One Trillion US Dollar economy by the year 2030.
I am happy that The New Indian Express (TNIE) is bringing out a special edition titled ‘Pride of Tamil Nadu’ showcasing the state’s multifaceted growth. I wish them all the best.
