Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Tamil Nadu was the only state whose GSDP growth did not turn negative in 2021, showing the resilience of its economy, said S. Krishnan, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Industries , investment and trade promotion in Chennai on Friday.

“Unemployment rates also increased but remained below the national average,” he said, addressing students on “Covid-19 Implications for Labor and Employment: Strategies, Prospects and challenges” organized by the PG and the Economics Research Department of the Presidential College.

Mr Krishnan said the state government had done everything possible to ensure workers who wanted to return home traveled safely during the pandemic. Data provided by him in a presentation showed that 4.2 lakh migrant workers were sent to their states by train and bus.

He explained how the Tamil Nadu government has been handling the pandemic and eleven committees, including a committee to ensure the welfare of migrant workers, have been formed to coordinate the implementation of various social welfare programs. “Tamil Nadu was the first state in the country to issue government orders to ensure business continuity of continuous process industries, specialist medical devices and other essential industries,” he said.

As a result of all this, he said multinational companies have strengthened their relationship with Tamil Nadu and are looking to invest more in the state. “Two weeks ago, during an official tour of Japan and Korea, most of the companies the team met wanted to invest in Tamil Nadu. The response was positive and they were grateful that we ensured business continuity during the pandemic,” Mr. Krishnan said.

And because of all these state government interventions Tamil Nadu labor force has been at consistently higher rates after June 2021 unlike other states and unemployment rates have come down significantly from to other states, he added.