With its pronounced transition from an agriculture-based economy to one increasingly dependent on industry, it is clear that Chennai has got on to the highway of rapid progress. Here is a quick round-up of what's been happening on the industrial front in Chennai.

At the 174th Annual General Meeting of the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) held in Chennai recently, the chairman and managing director of TVS Motor Company Ltd, Venu Srinivasan, presented his observations on Indian economy and industry.

What he said though may as well apply in full measure to Chennai. According to him, the contribution of the agriculture sector to GDP was declining and it was the manufacturing sector alone that could provide more jobs and growth.

"A 1 per cent growth in manufacturing could create jobs for 20 million to 30 million people, a growth other sectors were unable to provide. Productivity and flexibility are essential for India to maintain its cost advantage in the global market and the resulting labour flexibility will lead to accelerated and inclusive growth," he said.

Narrowing down his observations to individual States, he further said, "We have to think of India for the next 20 years. The challenges of each State are different, but it is not totally different for Tamil Nadu. We have to see how industry will embrace reforms. We have to rise to the challenges and get together as a unit," he said.

Things, per se, are certainly in the action mode in Tamil Nadu and its capital city Chennai. The MCCI, for instance, will be establishing a training centre for skill development near Oragadam, bring out a coffee table book on MCCI's history and heritage, commission two major studies - infrastructure requirements and entrepreneurial eco-system of the State, and open chapters in non-metro and in major cities in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the one event that will boost Chennai's industrial status will be the CII Connect 2010 show that will lay the road map for information communication and technology growth in the State for the next ten years.

Briefing reporters, the event's chairman, S Mahalingam, said, "Tamil Nadu can now move into the next stage of creating an eco-system for collaboration between IT and other industries and assume industry leadership in both domains. We will come out with vision ICT 2020." The State currently ranks second in software exports and continues to attract greater investment and foreign direct investment (FDI) flow. The ICT sector has created 0.8 million direct employment and 2.2 million indirect employment. To move into the larger picture, Chennai has a diversified economic base supported by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services industries. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Chennai is estimated to grow to a US $ 100 billion economy, 2.5 times its present size, by the year 2025. The city is base to around 30 per cent of India's automobile industry and 35 per cent of its auto components industry.

A large number of automotive companies including Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Mitsubishi, Komatsu, TVS Motors, Ashok Leyland, Nissan-Renault, Daimler Trucks, TI Cycles of India, TAFE Tractors, Royal Enfield, Caterpillar Inc, Caparo, Madras Rubber Factory (MRF), and Apollo Tyres have set up manufacturing plants in and around Chennai. Next on the list of major contributors to Chennai's economy are the many software and software services companies that have development centres here. This includes major software companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Hewlett Packard, HCL Enterprise, IBM, Mahindra Satyam, CTS, MphasiS, Polaris Software Lab, Capgemini, Accenture, Amazon.com, eBay, Symantec, Verizon, etc.

Meanwhile, electronics manufacturers based in and around Chennai include Nokia, Motorola, Dell, Samsung, and Foxconn among others. Telecom giants Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer and chemicals giant Dow Chemicals have research and development facilities in Chennai.

The TICEL Biotech Park and Golden Jubilee Biotech Park at Siruseri house biotechnology companies and laboratories. To complement Chennai's position as an important auto hub, the CII will host Auto Serve 2010, the 4th edition of India's focused exhibition on automotive care, maintenance, service, parts, and garage equipments from November 19-21, 2010 at the Chennai Trade Centre. The event will focus on the opportunities in the rapidly growing automotive aftermarket business in India. The three-day exhibition is expected to attract 125+ exhibitors and 10,000+ trade visitors. There would be live technology demos for vehicle testing, servicing, repairs, etc. Some of the other concurrently held events will include a conference on automotive collision and repairs and educational sessions on automotive maintenance.

The emphasis on Chennai, and Tamil Nadu as a whole, becoming a primary force of attraction for the auto majors was clearly reflected through what Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had to say while inaugurating Nissan India's car plant recently. "With the establishment of the car project by Renault-Nissan, Chennai has become the home of seven auto majors out of top 20 global automobile manufacturers, adding to the existing facilities by Daimler, Ford, BMW, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi. The establishment of these automobile projects in Chennai bears ample testimony to the favourable investment climate prevailing in Tamil Nadu,"' he said, adding, "With its investor-friendly policies, Tamil Nadu has been a forerunner in attracting a large number of domestic and foreign investors." Karunanidhi further said that his government had signed 25 MoUs and issued orders for another 12 industries since May 2006. "'The total investment in these 37 industries will be about ` 46,091 crore and they will create employment potential for 2.22 lakh people directly and indirectly." Meanwhile, on the initiative of the DMK government, the centre is implementing the National Automotive Testing Research and Development Infrastructure Project (NATRIP) at Oragadam near the city at a cost of about ` 450 crore and the State has allotted 300 acres land for it.

"'This project aims at facilitating the introduction of world-class automotive safety, emission, and performance standards in India and also ensuring the seamless integration of our automotive industry with the global industry," Karunanidhi said.