In Tamil Nadu, we have long prided ourselves on being industrious, innovative, and aspirational. For decades, our state was a model of industrial development and social mobility — a place where hard work translated into upward progress. But today, that promise is breaking down. The unemployment crisis, especially among our youth, has become more than an economic issue — it is a quiet emergency that the current government has neither acknowledged seriously nor addressed competently.
According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), as of early 2024, Tamil Nadu’s unemployment rate stood at 5.2%, higher than the national average. But statistics only reveal part of the problem. Under-employment, disguised unemployment, and the migration of skilled youth to other states and abroad reflect a growing erosion of opportunity, affecting lakhs of families.
The ruling party touts its achievements through job fairs and the 2024 Global Investors Meet (GIM), claiming Rs 6.64 lakh crore in investment commitments and 14.5 lakh promised jobs. Yet, by April 2024, only Rs 13,000 crore had materialised and a mere 46,000 jobs were created — just over 3% of the original promise. These jobs, largely in MSMEs, often lack security, growth prospects, or adequate compensation.
We are witnessing a dangerous gap between aspiration and accountability. The tragedy isn’t just the unemployment rate — it is the collapse of public faith in government schemes as reliable engines of opportunity.
This was not always the case.
Under the All India Anna DravidaMunnetraKazhagam (AIADMK), employment generation was never an afterthought. It was embedded in our longstanding commitment to expanding opportunities, building infrastructure, and equipping youth with future-ready skills.
Take the tenure of our late leader, J Jayalalithaa, who during 2011–2016 made industrial development central to job creation. The 2015 Global Investors Meet, held under her visionary leadership, attracted Rs 2.42 lakh crore in investment commitments — over 65% of which were realised, creating more than 2.5 lakh jobs. That period saw Tamil Nadu emerge as a trusted destination for global manufacturing.
It is a matter of pride that Tamil Nadu became part of Apple’s global supply chain when Foxconn began assembling iPhones in Sriperumbudur in 2017, scaling up operations by 2019. This marked our state’s rise in high-end electronics manufacturing. Companies like Foxconn, Dell and Nokia established major operations here, employing lakhs of workers — many of them rural and semi-urban women. Back then, employment was a vehicle of social transformation, not just an economic figure.
As chief mMinister from 2017 to 2021, I carried this vision forward. In September 2019, we unveiled the Tamil Nadu Electric Vehicle Policy, targeting Rs 50,000 crore in investments and 1.5 lakh jobs. A landmark announcement came in December 2019, when Ather Energy decided to establish a two-wheeler and lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Hosur. This initiative marked a significant step in transforming Hosur into an EV hub.
In December 2020, our government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ola Electric to set up a Rs 2,400 crore electric two-wheeler factory in Hosur, projected to employ over 2,000 individuals. These strategic investments laid the foundation for Tamil Nadu’s emergence as a leader in India’s EV sector.
We also emphasised infrastructure-led growth to ensure employment spread across districts. The Chief Minister’s Road Development Programme alone created over 1.1 lakh jobs. Our ‘Amma Skill Training Centres’, in collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation, certified over 1.9 lakh youth in healthcare, IT, logistics, and retail — sectors with growing demand.
We knew rural areas required targeted intervention. That’s why we expanded the Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project with World Bank support. It led to 26,000 micro-enterprises and over 80,000 jobs in agri-processing and rural services. Our job creation strategy was always local, strategic, and inclusive.
Now contrast this with the current administration’s Global Investors Meet. It may have generated headlines, but it lacks transparency, sectoral accountability, and a clear roadmap. Most MoUs are vague on timelines, job distribution, or follow-up audits.
The DMK’s 2021 manifesto promised 10 lakh jobs. Four years later, there is no independent audit showing how many jobs have materialised, where they were created or who benefited. State-run entities like Tangedco, TWAD Board and TNSTC face hiring freezes. Public recruitment has stalled, leaving thousands of young graduates sending applications into a void.
This failure has deep consequences. A Ministry of External Affairs report noted a 35% rise in outward migration of skilled workers from Tamil Nadu over the past decade. Increasingly, our youth are leaving not out of ambition, but out of desperation. Families who once dreamt of educating their children now rely on remittances from the Gulf to survive.
This is not the Tamil Nadu we envisioned.
We are at a critical juncture. The question before our people is personal and urgent: Can our children find stable, meaningful employment without leaving their home towns?
That’s why we are proposing a Job Creation Task Force to conduct quarterly, district-level audits. We aim to revive stalled SIPCOT clusters, industrial corridors, and MSME parks with clear, time-bound targets. Our skilling strategy will be aligned with the demands of emerging sectors like electric vehicles, semiconductors, and green logistics — not outdated job markets.
We understand that jobs are more than numbers — they represent dignity, stability, and hope. It is imperative that we build a future in which Tamil Nadu’s youth are no longer waiting, migrating, or despairing — but working, building, and thriving in their own land.
(The writer is former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, general secretary of AIADMK, and leader of opposition)