Providentially, Chennai's MRTS network connects the city's residential boroughs to software hub Taramani. And it can easily be extended to software-city-in-the-making Siruseri

The country's most providential mass rapid transit system (MRTS) has to be in Chennai. When it was envisioned in 1983, the Chennai MRTS was just supposed to be something that connected the happening port area (the station is aptly named Beach) with far-flung suburbs Taramani (then popular for a hospital and a polytechnic) and Tiruvanmiyur. In 1997, when it was commissioned, the Chennai MRTS did not evoke a great response (it still isn't all that hot), largely because the city boasted a great bus service. Today, however, it is poised to become one of the city's infrastructure showpieces and testimony to the foresight of city planners. Reason? Taramani has emerged as a mini hub for software services firms; Siruseri, down the line from Taramani, is where every software company worth its name in India is headed; and although the MRTS doesn't reach Siruseri yet, and this writer isn't aware of any efforts by the government to make it do so, fact is, this can be achieved at little incremental cost. Chennai will then have an efficient rail network connecting the city's popular residential neighbourhoods (such as Adyar, Mylapore, and Tiruvanmiyur, say) to its emerging software city. This, though, isn't a city-planning miracle wrought by design. It is a quirk of providence.

If things are coming together for Tamil Nadu-and, judging from the numbers presented in this article, they are-it is only partly because of the state government's efforts. Providence plays a larger role than it has been given credit for. For instance, the decision by the state government, in 1985, to allow the creation of private engineering colleges was largely driven by the desire to return favours to entrepreneurs and individuals who had done it a good turn in the past. However, many of the colleges thus founded went on to become centres of academic excellence. Today, their output fuels the great Indian software story.

In her second term, the buzz in Chennai goes, the Tamil Nadu CM is more investor-friendly and realises the state's future depends on her ability to attract investors. The Nokia deal is a definite coup

That said, things are coming together for the state: Nokia's investment of Rs 625 crore in a manufacturing facility (Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa claims this will result in an additional investment of Rs 600 crore by the handset maker's suppliers) being the most recent example. Sanjeev Sharma, the Managing Director of Nokia India, is all praise for the state's "infrastructure and the way the state's officials handled the negotiations", but Nokia chose Chennai (from a short-list that included Goa, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai) on account of its connectivity (it has a port and an international airport) and its pool of skilled labour.

More announcements are expected, says Rameshram Mishra, the Industries Secretary of the state, adding tantalisingly that "you can expect more news by the end of the month". The buzz in Chennai is that Intel could be considering putting down a manufacturing facility somewhere in the state, although this remains a matter of conjecture. And the government is doing its bit. It is investing in infrastructure (see Infrastructure Heavy) and doing what is required to protect its turf. In the automotive industry for instance (companies located in the state contribute 25 per cent to the topline of the industry), where the centre of gravity is threatening to move North, the state government is actively wooing the Central Government for the Rs 1,800-crore state-of-the-art automotive testing facility it wants to set up. B. Santhanam, the Chairman of the Tamil Nadu branch of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), an industry lobby and the Managing Director of St. Gobain (a glass maker, it is now in the midst of an expansion that will see it invest Rs 800 crore in the state) reckons the testing centre is key to the state's aspiration of increasing this proportion from 25 per cent to 35 per cent.

Nokia India CEO Sanjeev Sharma is all praise for Tamil Nadu's infrastructure and believes the state government handled the negotiations with parent Nokia very well

It isn't just auto; Infosys is building its biggest development centre in Tamil Nadu, and every other software major has investments lined up for similar facilities; and some Rs 5,000 crore is being pumped in by small and medium enterprises engaged in the business of textile exports. The government has provided 300 acres for a textile-processing park in Cuddalore where 10-12 companies will invest Rs 40-60 crore each. With Indian textile exporters looking to improve their showing in the post-quota world, and with Tamil Nadu boasting the country's largest powerloom sector, textiles looks set to be another winner for the state.

India's Telecom and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran is from Tamil Nadu. Although he belongs to the DMK (rival AIADMK is in power in the state), his role in encouraging technology firms to invest in the state cannot be discounted

IT services (software), auto (the state can attract as much as $5 billion, Rs 22,000 crore in foreign direct investment in this sector, claims Suresh Krishna, the Chairman and Managing Director of Sundram Fasteners), and textiles are three areas where Tamil Nadu is clearly among the leading states in the country, if not the leader. Then, there are other areas such as hardware (Pondicherry, a union territory adjoining Tamil Nadu has hitherto been India's hardware capital; see India's Unsung Hardware Capital, BT, November 25, 2001) where the state is making its presence felt.

The state's most interesting initiative, however, has to be its efforts to develop seven southern districts. These keenly feel the North-South divide, with North Tamil Nadu being the place where industrial activity has traditionally been concentrated. Today, courtesy this initiative (see Seven Unusual Suspects), projects worth Rs 33,735 crore are underway in the seven districts. If carried to their logical end, these would play a part in ensuring far more equitable development across the state. And that wouldn't be providential.