Tamil Nadu Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. file | photo credit: s. Shiva Saravanan
shortly after Deprived of its finance and human resource management departmentsPalanivel Thiyaga Rajan tweeted on Thursday, May 11, that the past two years were “the most fulfilling” in his life and that he looked forward to re-establishing Tamil Nadu’s position as a leader in the information technology sector, his new portfolio.
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The speed with which Mr. Rajan posted the tweet indicates that ahead of the election Chief Minister M.K. Stalin took him into confidence Reshuffle of portfolios of some ministers including him.
Mr. Rajan recalled that under Stalin’s leadership he presented a revised budget during the pandemic (’21 – ’22) and two annual budgets after the pandemic (’22 – ’23, ’23 – ’24).
The Tamil Nadu cabinet was reshuffled for the third time on 11 May 2023. Photo Credit: The Hindu Graphics
Despite inheriting record deficit and debt ratios, we have invested in a record number of social welfare schemes as well as record capital expenditure, while delivering a record-setting fiscal reform. It symbolizes my public service and indeed my life.
While fiscal consolidation and social spending are necessary steps for an egalitarian society, the drivers of growth and development are investment, enterprise expansion and job-creation, he said.
Thanking Mr Stalin for handing over the Information Technology portfolio to him, he said IT is today the number one industry for investment and job-creation globally.
“We know that technology shapes the future. Though Tamil Nadu was a pioneer in this area during the time of Thalaivar Kalaignar (Karunanidhi), unfortunately we have lagged behind our true potential in this area in the last decade. Thangaraj’s great efforts to attract more investments, accelerate job-creation and plan to drive growth at a pace that will re-establish Tamil Nadu as a leading state in IT,” he said.
Mr. Rajan hoped that his experience in setting up and managing a leading global capability center 15 years ago and my association with the IT and ITES industry during my professional career would enrich his efforts in this new role.
He also wished success to the incoming Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu. “I am sure he will accelerate the progress made earlier and create new records during his tenure,” he added.
Mr Rajan thanked Mr Stalin for providing the previous portfolio for two years and for providing “this exciting new role to serve the people”.