Industrialisation in the Colonial Period:
- The introduction of cotton cultivation in western and southern Tamil Nadu by the colonial government led to the emergence of a large-scale textile sector in these parts, which involved ginning, pressing, spinning and weaving operations.
- Introduction of railways also expanded the market for cotton yam and helped develop the sector.
- There was increase in trade during this period which led to industrial development. The two active ports in the region were Chennai and Tuticorin.
- In Western Tamil Nadu, the emergence of textiles industries also led to demand and starting of textile machinery industry in the region.
Post-Independence to early 1990s:
- After independence, several large enterprises were set up by both the central and state governments.
- The Integral Coach Factory in Chennai made railway coaches and the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) in Tiruchirapalli manufactured boilers and turbines.
- Ashok Motors and Standard Motors together helped form an automobile cluster in the Chennai region.
- The 1970s and 1980s saw the setting up of emergence of power loom weaving clusters in the Coimbatore region as well as expansion of cotton knitwear cluster in Timppur and home furnishings cluster in Kamr.
- The Hosur industrial cluster is a successful case of how such policy efforts to promote industrial estates helped develop industries in a backward region.
Industrialization in Tamil Nadu – Liberalization Phase:
- The final phase of industrialisation is the postreforms period since the early 1990s.
- Because of trade liberalisation measures, exports of textiles, home furnishings and leather products began to grow rapidly.
- Efforts to attract investments led to entry of leading multinational firms (MNCs) into the state, especially in the automobile sector.
- Chennai region also emerged as a hub for electronics industry with MNCs such as Nokia, Foxconn, Samsung and Flextronics opening plants on the city’s outskirts.
- A significant share of these investments has come up in special economic zones in the districts bordering Chennai.
- The major industries are automobiles, auto components, light and heavy engineering,machinery, cotton, etc.
- This diffused process of industrialisation and corresponding urbanisation has paved the way for better rural-urban linkages in Tamil Nadu than in most other states.