Tamil Nadu should get more bars, declared former Chief Economic Adviser of India, Arvind Subramanian, during a discussion at "The Big Bets for Tamil Nadu's $1 Trillion Economy" with another ex-CEA Raghuram Rajan. The economists were in a conversation with journalist Menaka Doshi.
While acknowledging the state's success in attracting manufacturing, Subramanian expressed concern about the migration of high-end talent to other states due to what he termed as an unattractive social infrastructure.
Drawing attention to the need for improvement in various aspects, he specifically emphasized, "I think there's no question that alcohol policy in Tamil Nadu is one of the weaknesses."
He added: “The social infrastructure in Tamil Nadu is not as attractive as Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, NCR and Bangalore.”
Subramanian's statement met with applause and then the video of the discussion went viral on social media.
Looking beyond the liquor policy and responding to the prevailing perception that Tamil Nadu is primarily a manufacturing state, Subramanian argued that this perception diminishes its ability to attract talent, evident in the startup data where the state falls below its weight in attracting unicorns compared to others.
“It goes beyond alcohol policy, you know, the social, the schooling, you know, the rents, all of those things. So I think if you want to make Tamil Nadu an attractive services proposition, including AI, etc., I think one needs to give more thought to the social infrastructure. I think it needs more oomph, right? Exactly,” he said.
Raghuram Rajan and Subramanian both echoed optimism for the state to achieve a $1 trillion economy during the talk. Rajan said, "Tamil Nadu's $1 trillion goal is ambitious. But if there is a good time to reach that goal, it is now."
Both economists emphasized that Tamil Nadu, with its historical significance and recent advancements in manufacturing, has a unique opportunity to achieve this ambitious target.
Rajan said Tamil Nadu needs to grow at 18% per annum for the next seven years to meet its $1 trillion goal by 2030. While acknowledging the historical challenges, Subramanian pointed out the potential in scaling up manufacturing capabilities, citing the emergence of factories employing thousands of people in the state.
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