This retired IAS narrates Tamil Nadu’s Make in India; 5 observations

Sitharam Gurumurthi is a 1972 batch Tamil Nadu cadre retired IAS who was closely associated with the loan negotiations with the IMF during 1991-92 when India had faced a serious balance of payments crisis. In fact, Gurumurthi was then a staff member with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC (1989-92). In a recent article published in a business daily, The Hindu Business Line, Gurumurthi talks about Tamil Nadu’s Make in India which has primarily been driven by its thriving automobile industry. Here are 5 observations of the retired IAS, among others, about the Chennai chapter of Make in India:

1. In Tamil Nadu, automobile industry has witnessed a spectacular stride in the last three decades. Significantly, the growth is faster than most other parts.
2. It was former President of India R Venkataraman who in his capacity as the state's industry minister placed Tamil Nadu on India's industrial map.
3. Chennai is among Top 10 automobile hubs in the world. The car companies that have factories there include: Hyundai, BMW, Ford, Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi-HM. Total turnover? Whopping $8 billion.
4. Chennai exported 1,46,000 cars to as many as 103 countries (2008-2009 figure).
5. The turning point of the success story was the Ford Motors' decision to set up a manufacturing unit.
Gurumurthi is MA both in economics and English, and is also a post-graduation diploma holder in foreign trade. He did his PhD in economics. He has one more degree: Masters of public administration from the Pennsylvania State University, USA.
He retired as additional chief secretary to government of Tamil Nadu in June 2008, and was a member of the state planning commission between 2009 and 2011.