Tamil Nadu has the talent and the infrastructure to ensure investors get their money’s worth and the state’s economy grows and people get jobs, minister for industries T R B Rajaa tells D Govardan in an interview. Edited excerpts:
 We are entering election year in Tamil Nadu. Will policy decisions slow down?

Policy decisions slow down only if the ones in power think there’s going to be a change. We don’t consider there is any change coming. I’m sure we will continue. So, there’s no slowing in policy decisions.
Our CM (M K Stalin) is a multitasker. He’s more than capable of balancing both – administration and elections. We’re going to see more policy tweaks coming soon because the world is going at that speed. Going forward we need a lot more new policies and policy interventions in emerging sectors.
 Have you done enough in the past four years on the industries front for the state?
We have done enough to at least negate the negative sentiments of the past 10 years. It’s taken us two, three years to get that sorted. The world was looking at Tamil Nadu in a very, very different way. Even Delhi looked down on us before. Now Delhi knows we are our own bosses and the state’s rights are back. The entire world is also looking at Tamil Nadu in a very positive way.
This kind of a growth-oriented, welfare-oriented, policy-wise governance is what investors dream of. And they know the govt is also making sure the talent needed for investment to thrive is also being prepared and consistently provided. Today in India, Tamil Nadu is the first port of call for investment.
 How much of industrial investment promised has actually happened?
Some people consider that investments have come in when companies apply for even small clearances. But we have set our standards higher. We have not even taken into consideration people who have taken just the land. We see whether they have taken the land, leased or rented office space and applied for clearances. Despite that, the conversion rate stands at 70% or 72% and that is big. This has resulted in the creation of around 3 lakh to 4 lakh jobs. And if you consider the indirect jobs created, that will be a very big number.
 Politics aside, how has cooperation from the Centre been for the industries dept?
A few key investments like the one from the Tatas or the semiconductor investment from the Murugappa group that we had confirmed went to a different state. I don’t want to go into that. But it is very unfortunate. But, even with stepmotherly treatment from Delhi, Tamil Nadu is thriving. Imagine what we can do if Delhi understands that Tamil Nadu is the engine that is powering India; that Tamil Nadu is key for India to succeed.
Tamil Nadu always plays the India game. Even in Davos this time we went and put up a united front. They said, can we do it together? We said yes. As a nation, India should be one. India should talk for India. And when I go outside of India, I talk for India. Of course, I talk for Tamil Nadu; Tamil Nadu is part of it.
 Is the lack of support a reason why the first PM Mitra textile park allotted to Tamil Nadu is yet to take off?
I will be fair on that. They have said that they will clear it in the next two weeks. Only a couple of days ago, they cleared the one for Madhya Pradesh. From the beginning, we were very strong on one request that it should not go to a private player. Tamil Nadu has Sipcot for 50 years and it has been developing industrial estates. We can’t just like that give away around 2,000 acres to a private developer. MP also now got it for the public sector. Finally, only these two states are doing it on their own.
 Everyone wants a share of the semiconductor pie. What is TN’s focus?
The talent is available here; the infrastructure is available here. All that is needed for a factory to thrive is already here. And we also see this as a big national security thing. When you have everything within ICBM range, in the kind of geopolitical situation that we have now north of India, it makes sense to have a backup or a good production facility in the south.
 How is the state going to handle the Trump tariffs uncertainty?
It’s not for us to handle, it’s for the govt of India to handle. We have given our views. It’s a very unstable thing. But I think we stand to gain because manufacturers are not going to leave India because India is a huge market and when you want to manufacture in India, Tamil Nadu comes first. And I think right now the global situation is that India has a slight edge.
If the Union govt plays its cards right, in which Tamil Nadu will also stand with them, India gains. I think it is a critical time for diplomacy now and to not give in too much and make sure that we get our pound of flesh because we have the talent today to match the production of any other country.