Educational institutions, start-ups key in propelling T.N.’s economic growth, says Palanivel Thiaga Rajan

Minister Thiaga Rajan emphasizes role of educational institutions and start-ups in Tamil Nadu's $1 trillion economy vision.

Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Thursday said educational institutions and start-ups had a key role to play when it came to propelling the State’s economic growth and in contributing to the State’s vision of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Delivering his keynote address at a symposium on ‘EIs (Educational Institutions) and Start-ups on Tamil Nadu’s Vision of a US $1 Trillion Economy by 2030’ at the Crescent Innovation and Incubation Council (CIIC), he pointed out that the headcount of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in the State had gone up by 65% ever since the DMK government came to power. And 99% of this came in without any subsidy, he added.

Mr. Thiaga Rajan said educational institutions need to be free of politics.

He added: “There is an old chicken or the egg question that goes — do good institutions build prosperous societies or do prosperous societies build or encourage good institutions? This was not so clear till about 10-15 years ago. But now, the answer is very clear. If you have apolitical, counterbalancing, and well-designed institutions that ensure a level playing field, freedom of expression, and smooth societies without dominance of one section and suppression of another, the more likely you are to have a prosperous society,” he added.

Mr. Thiaga Rajan also unveiled a compendium of products made by start-ups at the CIIC and also inaugurated new companies incubated at the council. The symposium, with the theme ‘Educational Institutions as Engines of Economic Growth’ was organised by the United Economic Forum (UEF) in collaboration with the CIIC.

Ahmed Buhari, president, UEF, spoke on the forum’s vision and mission, stressing the need for Entrepreneurship, Start-up, Innovation, Incubation, and Accelerator centres in educational institutes. Parvez Alam, executive director, CIIC, detailed the evolution of CIIC since its inception.