TN to develop 2 million sq ft IT hub in Coimbatore under PPP for Artificial Intelligence

The Tamil Nadu government is establishing 2 million sq ft of IT space in Coimbatore through a Public-Private Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (AI), one of the focus sectors for the State government, Chief Minister MK Stalin said in his inaugural address at the two-day Umagine TN 2025 IT Summit on Thursday. Tamil Nadu is always ahead of others in encouraging the IT sector. The State government is taking initiatives to transform emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, IoT and Electric Vehicles. The number of Global Capability Centres has been increasing since the government came to power. But no matter how much we have done, it is not enough. “I think Tamil Nadu should move towards further development. We are always one step ahead of others in motivating business and entrepreneurship,” he said.

Development should not be concentrated only in the capital. True development has to be balanced and comprehensive. This is why Tamil Nadu is creating and providing a great impetus to the youth in Chennai and other cities for employment opportunities in their locality, he said.

In 1999, the former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi established the Tidel Park in Chennai. Today, the government is moving to the next stage. ELCOT has established technology parks and mini technology Parks in tier-II and tier-III cities like Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Trichy, Hosur, Tirunelveli, Vellore, Villupuram and Thoothukudi, he said. This is the age of digital. From now on, all people’s use will be digital, which should be simple and accessible to everyone. At the same time, security features should prevent irregularities in digital technology. Digital crime is also spreading, and it must be prevented. Technologies must be designed and strengthened accordingly, he said.

State IT minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said that Chief Minister MK Stalin’s ambition is to ensure that the State is the best source of human resources for the entire world. He said tens of thousands of students have benefited from the government’s Naan Mudhalvan scheme.

No other place in the world produces as many people in the technology sector as Tamil Nadu does. The State produces about 20 per cent of India’s engineering and technology; it is the number one source for patent filing anywhere in India, and about 75 per cent of patents in the areas of deep tech and innovation are filed in Chennai alone, he said. “No other centres in India, though they are famed as technology centres like Mumbai or Bengaluru or Pune or Delhi or Gurgaon can boast one statistic that we are very proud of - more than 85 per cent of people working in the technology sector working in Tamil Nadu are of Tamil origin. We are producing that much human capital that we are able to sustain our own industry. A significant portion of the technology talent in places like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR or Pune are of Tamil origin,” the minister said.

C Vijayakumar, Chief Executive Officer and MD, HCL Technologies, said Tamil Nadu is a very strategic location for the company, with an expansive presence in Chennai and Madurai. Of the 220,000 people globally that we have, about 160,000 are in India, and more than a third of them are based in Tamil Nadu. A large percentage of them were born, raised, and educated in Tamil Nadu. “I believe Tamil Nadu has done all of this and has done it very well. Tamil Nadu is a hub for diverse industries, a key hub for IT, manufacturing base, a lot of professional services both in it and financial services and also a very good agriculture and horticulture environment here,” he said.