Language barrier impacting investments in TN, says Annamalai


Chennai, Jan 10: Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai highlighted the language barrier as a hindrance to the state’s economic growth. Annamalai expressed concern that the state government’s failure to address this issue has resulted in fewer investments compared to other states.

According to Annamalai, the language barrier is affecting Tamil Nadu’s ability to attract investments. He emphasized that people are not being compelled to learn Hindi but encouraged to acquire an additional language for career advancement. Annamalai cited the example of Uttar Pradesh’s successful investor meet in February 2023, where they secured MoUs worth over Rs 33 lakh crore, five times more than Tamil Nadu’s recent achievements.

The BJP president also pointed out Karnataka’s success in attracting investments, with over Rs 9 lakh crore committed in February 2022. He urged the Tamil Nadu government to focus on tangible efforts rather than boasting about existing investments.

The recently concluded Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024 witnessed the signing of 631 MoUs, with investors committing to an investment of Rs 6,64,180 crore and the creation of 26,90,657 jobs. Despite these figures, Annamalai argued that the state needs to work harder to outperform other regions.

Responding to actor Vijay Sethupathi’s comments on language imposition, Annamalai acknowledged everyone’s right to express their opinions. However, he stressed the impact of such comments, noting that companies from North India prefer Bengaluru over Tamil Nadu due to the language barrier.