State Policy and the Making of Industrial Space in Tamil Nadu, 1991–2011
R. Pandian
Research Scholar (Part-time), Periyar University, Salem-11 & Assistant Professor, Research Department of History, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Vadachennimalai, Attur - 636121.
S. Swaminathan
Research Supervisor, Associate Professor of History, Thiruvalluvar Government Arts College, Rasipuram - 637401
Economic liberalisation after 1991 is often seen as a period when the state stepped back from industrial planning and allowed market forces to shape industrial growth. The experience of Tamil Nadu, however, suggests a different picture. This article examines how state policies continued to influence the location, expansion, and organisation of industrial space in Tamil Nadu between 1991 and 2011. Using industrial policy documents, planning records and institutional sources, it looks at how industrial development was guided through planned land acquisition, industrial estates, infrastructure development and regulatory controls. Industrial growth in areas such as Sriperumbudur, Hosur, and Tiruppur did not happen randomly. These regions developed as industrial centres because of specific policy choices linked to infrastructure, sector priorities, and export orientation. Environmental rules and phased development of industrial estates also played an important role in shaping where industries could locate. At the same time, state planning moved away from earlier goals of spreading industry evenly across regions and began to prioritise competitiveness and investment potential. As a result, industrial growth became concentrated in selected regions.
Keywords: State policy, industrial space, economic liberalisation, spatial planning, Tamil Nadu
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