URBANISATION, SOCIAL CHANGE & DEVELOPMENT
Urbanisation and social change (with economic uplift) are interdependent, and rather combine in them a chicken-and-egg equation. The question is which came first.
But there is no denying that both travel together.
Nowhere else is it more visible and palpable than in Tamil Nadu, where for historic reasons, the spread has been equitable, if not equal and uniform Compared to the rest of the country, minor adjustments alone needed doing, and was done in the past decades since Independence, by a succession of governments that strived for socio-economic equity either as a belief-based legacy of the Independence movement or as a counter-poise of an ideology. Yet, in politico-administrative terms, both met somewhere and took off together, though not always at political tandem.
As per the 2011 Census figures, Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised State having an urban population of 3 5 crores, or 48 44 per cent of the total population of 7 2 crores The growth rate of urban population in the previous decade was 27 16 per cent viz a rural population growth of just 6 49 per cent. The current urbanised rate would be higher and will become clear only in the next Census. The estimate is that 68 per cent of the State’s population would be urbanised by the year 2030.
History & Historicity
While urbanisation per se heralds development and social-economic and consequent socio-political changes, and more so in a democratic polity as India’s, in the case of Tamil Nadu, the reasons can be attributed to history, both contemporary and relatively old, say, a thousand years ago
Possibly, no other region in the country could boast of kingdoms that might not have been too large in physical and geographical terms, but had won battles across the country and overseas, one after the other. The distant era of the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas and Pallavas, their wars and victories, coming with their bounties, was an initial facilitator for urbanisation, however minimal it might have been in the contemporary context.
Then, after a relative lull came the English East India Company’s administration from the eighteenth century, followed by direct rule by the British Crown from 1858 until Independence in 1947 By obtaining the revenue rights across what now constitutes most of Tamil Nadu and even beyond, the Company from the Nawab of Arcot, Robert Clive also paved the way for ushering in ‘modern / homogenous’ education, attendant by allopathic healthcare and non-traditional employment to the rural population in emerging urban centres, for multiple reasons.
The rest, as they say, is history.
5:15 PM Registration & Hi-Tea
6:00 PM Welcome Address
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Executive Director, Madras Management Association
Opening Remarks
Mr N Sathiya Moorthy
Convenor, Policy Matters - Chennai
Address by the Speakers
Mr R Poornalingam, IAS (Retd)
Former Secretary to Govt of India
Dr M Vijayabaskar
Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies
Member, Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission
Ms Anju Mary K
Director - Industry Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Danfoss Industries Pvt Ltd
Q & A
Vote of Thanks 7:25 PM
Poornalingam, a distinguished Officer of the Indian Administrative Service, held significant positions in both the Central and State governments of India, making notable contributions to various sectors.
As Secretary of the Ministry of Disinvestment, he spearheaded the NTPC IPO, and as Secretary of the Ministry of Textiles, he formulated policies for modernizing the industry He also served as Additional Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat and Ministry of Power, participating in major policy initiatives across sectors like Power, Telecom, Health, and Education.
In Tamil Nadu, Poornalingam served as Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board, overseeing power generation and distribution, and as State Health Secretary, he implemented policies that reduced the Birth Rate and Infant Mortality Rate. His establishment of the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation revolutionized drug availability, praised by the World Bank and the World Health Organization as a model in public procurement.
Post-retirement, he chaired CDOT Alcatel Research Centre and the Tamil Nadu Police Commission. Currently, he advises international organizations like the World Bank, DFID, and UNICEF, focusing on improving public procurement systems. Poornalingam holds degrees in Electrical Engineering, Law, and Economics as a Hubert Humphrey scholar. He is also an author of four books and numerous articles.
Poornalingam's expertise, leadership, and dedication have left a lasting impact on policy formulation, organizational improvements, and public service throughout his illustrious career.
M. Vijayabaskar is a Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. His research centers on political economy of development in Tamil Nadu with a focus on labour and land markets, human development and their intersections with policy-making He has co-authored the book ‘The Dravidian Model: Interpreting the Political Economy of Tamil Nadu’, published by Cambridge University Press earlier this year The book is a pioneering attempt to explain Tamil Nadu’s development in terms of political mobilization.
Vijayabaskar has also coordinated the preparation of the Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 2017 and has undertaken other research studies for the TN government
In addition to publishing in numerous scholarly journals and media outlets, he has co-edited monographs including Rethinking Social Justice (Orient Blackswan 2020), Participolis: Consent and Contention in Neoliberal Urban India, (Routledge 2012) and ICTs and Indian Social Development: Diffusion, Governance, Poverty (Sage 2008).
He has held Visiting Faculty positions at École des haute sétudesen sciences sociales (EHESS), Paris, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and IIT Madras. He is on the editorial advisory board of Oxford Development Studies, South Asia Multi-Disciplinary Academic Journal (SAMAJ) and the Indian Journal of Labour Economics, and has also served as a consultant to the Government of India, ILO, UNICEF and UNRISD. He holds a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Danfoss Industries Pvt Ltd
Communication, Branding, CSR & Sustainability, Public & Industry Affairs, PR & Media Relations, Employee Engagement, Events & Campaigns, Public Speaking and People Management are my passionate areas of expertise Have worked in various leading corporate, media & service organizations in India & abroad
Winner of CSR Abroad Award from Ministry of Denmark, Golden Peacock Award for Environment Management Excellence & recognitions from Govt. of Tamil Nadu & Telengana for CSR work in the areas of Education & Skill Development, amongst others. Member of CII National Council for Climate Change, CII-SR CSR and Affirmative Action Council and select other industry bodies.
N Sathiya Moorthy is a policy analyst & political commentator, specialising in the study of India’s southern neighbours, namely, Maldives and Sri Lanka, and also on Indian politics and political systems, with particular reference to native Tamil Nadu. He has written extensively on these subjects, both as books and newspaper columns and commissioned articles
Sathiya Moorthy is associated with major newspapers and TV channels, both in India and Sri Lanka and also headed the Chennai Initiative of the Observer Research Foundation since inception in 2001
A veteran journalist and author, he is the convenor of ‘Policy MattersChennai’.
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