State government will release policy to set up ‘innovation city’, says Aadhav Arjuna

Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna said on Saturday that the Tamil Nadu government would soon release a ‘visionary’ policy to help establish an ‘innovation city’ so innovators from India can realise their ideas in the country instead of searching for opportunities abroad.

In his address at the 35^th convocation of Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, he said the policy document would provide a pathway for Tamil Nadu to become a $1.5-trillion economy. The State should create an environment where ideas conceived by students can be realised in their own country rather than them having to move abroad for it. Stating that students in higher education overwhelmingly favoured entering the workforce, the Minister pointed out that in the university’s graduating batch, over 90% of students had secured placements. “Facilities should be made available for the students who like to invent, innovate, and try out their ideas. If the U.S. did not set up Silicon Valley, several large and popular tech companies may not exist,” he said.

N. Marie Wilson, Minister for Finance, Pensions, and Planning and Development, said the current government was committed to providing corruption-free governance, which would have a direct impact on the lives of the people. He said the White Paper released by his department stated that Tamil Nadu had a per capita debt burden of ₹1.28 lakh, and urged the students to contribute to the GSDP by coming up with fresh ideas for innovation. He thanked the university for providing 50 free seats to poor and deserving students from the R.K. Nagar Assembly constituency during the current academic year.

Mariazeena Johnson, chancellor, Sathyabama University, said the outgoing batch of students had achieved a feat of bagging 4,002 placement offers from leading national and multinational organisations.

Presenting the annual report, B. Sheela Rani, vice-chancellor, said 4,712 undergraduate students, 932 postgraduate students, and 116 Ph.D scholars graduated this year. The university’s technology business incubator nurtured 82 start-ups this year. The highest salary package reached during this year’s campus placements was ₹41.2 lakh per annum.

N. Marie Johnson, president, Sathyabama University; and Maria Bernadette Arul Selvan, Maria Catherine Johnson, and J. Arul Selvan, all vice-presidents, were present.