Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 10 : Tamil Nadu has firmly established itself as the leader in India's electronics sector, reaching a massive export value of USD 14.65 billion in 2025, said TRB Rajaa, the Tamil Nadu State Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce. This is a huge jump from just USD 1.65 billion in 2021.
"India's exports is around $45 billion, so we expect Tamil Nadu to be at least around the $18 billion mark, again being the number one state to export electronics out of India," said the Minister. He made these remarks while speaking at the 15th edition of the ELCINA (Electronic Industries Association of India) Source India expo held in Chennai.
The Minister explained that while investment numbers are often talked about, the state government under Chief Minister MK Stalin has a different priority: creating jobs for the people. He noted that the state has been very successful in making sure the various central government schemes, like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI), actually lead to employment on the ground. According to recent data from the second tranche of the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), Tamil Nadu has secured a staggering 69% of all jobs created under the program.
"My Chief Minister does not care about the investment numbers, he cares about the jobs that are being created, and where these jobs are being created," Rajaa said. He added that the state doesn't just wait for central schemes but adds its own value by providing matching grants to make the industry even more competitive.
Because of these efforts, Tamil Nadu is now a hub for manufacturing complex parts like PCBs, camera modules, and transistors. The goal is to build a complete supply chain within the state that can serve not just India, but the entire Global South.
The Minister also spoke about how the world is looking at Tamil Nadu for its talented workforce. Every year, 150,000 engineers graduate from colleges in the state, and countries like Japan, Korea, and Germany are interested in hiring them. To help with this, the state is focusing on training students in both technical skills and foreign languages.
"They are willing to take people from Tamil Nadu who are trained in tech and language to come and work in their countries, and exactly on the other side, we want them to come and train our kids also in the high-class, world-class ideas that we have in Tamil Nadu," the Minister concluded.