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Competition hots up at the top

V. Jayanth

Southern States doing well in economic indices, says CII

CHENNAI: On a relative basis, going by the averages of other States and the national performance, the southern States seem to have an edge in the economic and social indices, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-Southern Region. Enthused by this surmise, the regional forum of the CII plans to step up its focus on helping these States retain their competitive edge over the others.

Though some of the indices on which Southern Regional chairman Pradipta K. Mohapatra has based his projection of the south as leaders, the thrust of his tenure as the regional chief of CII will obviously be on strengthening this perceived advantage.

The objective, no doubt, appears to be focus on attracting more industries and investments to the south, and at the same time, assisting existing industries to prepare and equip themselves for the competition that lies ahead.

The CII has tried to identify some of the basic strengths and success stories of the southern States — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. It has pointed to the efforts of Tamil Nadu to take industries, especially IT and ITeS, to the Tier-II and Tier-III cities/ towns of the State; Andhra Pradesh’s attempt to root for agro and agro-based industries; Kerala’s renewed emphasis on health tourism; the innovations tried out by Karnataka; and the livelihood enhancement drive by Puducherry.

CII sources explain that the south has emerged as the cynosure of both foreign and domestic investors.

In fact, the competition among the southern States has intensified over the past couple of years, leading to major industrial houses locating their expansion projects in the neighbouring State.

They do not want to put all their eggs in one basket. “Our focus this year is on Building People. Building India — The Southern Leap Forward. We want to highlight the southern synergies,” says a top CII functionary.

In recent years, the south has attracted major industries both in the manufacturing and services sectors. Karnataka continues to be a favourite destination for IT and biotech industries; Tamil Nadu retains its edge in manufacturing and is doing very well in IT, ITeS and communications; Kerala, after progressing so much on tourism, has also started to develop IT in a big way; for Andhra Pradesh, the services sector has been the mainstay till now, with the Government keen on promoting agriculture related industries to keep pace with its development of agriculture and irrigation projects.

Along with Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and the Punjab-Haryana-New Delhi triangle, the southern States have been the favoured investment destinations for quite some time now.

Taking all this into account, the CII plans to ask leading consultants to help prepare a detailed vision document for each of the States so that it can put together a composite vision statement for the southern region — a projection of what it can be by 2025.

For its part, the Confederation will get involved in skills mapping and in developing sustainable cities. There will also be focus areas in each State - development of the southern districts in Tamil Nadu, industrialisation of north Kerala, study of the industrial potential of Anantapur-Chitoor-Cuddapah zone in Andhra Pradesh, and the industrialisation of north Karnataka.

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