Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Friday pointed out that major information technology (IT) hubs like Bengaluru and Hyderabad are drawing tech talent and the IT ecosystem in the state is not performing well.

He was speaking on the topic of "The role of information technology in shaping a trillion dollar economy" at the state government's Umagine technology conference in the city.

"Tamil Nadu has the talent and we are pioneers. We set up TIDEL parks and the IT department in the administration of the government before realising its potential. Yet today, I must admit, we are not the leaders, at least at the city level. Cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad seem to have better ecosystems that draw talent and our ecosystem has not been that good."

"This is our time to reclaim our spot," he said. "The greatest wealth creation is going to come from tech in the coming years, and it is going to be one of the key drivers of growth. We want to become the best ecosystem for innovation in tech and provide the right kind of careers and opportunities for wealth creation."

Thiaga Rajan said a new era of rapid expansion of IT companies is happening in the state. He further said the government is focused on providing systemic and capital support to entrepreneurs, partnering with startups, improving ease of doing business, and providing equitable opportunities like financial support for marginalized groups and building optical fiber networks across the state with high speed internet connection under a unified digital infrastructure scheme.

"In today's knowledge-based economy, you cannot have two classes of citizens, where one has access to high speed information at their fingertips and the other does not. Access should not become a barrier, and we want inclusion down to the last mile at every village and every hamlet," PTR added.

Media: The Hindu