Employment

Buckingham Canal extended as famine relief

A section of the coastal canal linking the Adyar and Cooum rivers was dug as famine relief work, and the canal was renamed the Buckingham Canal.

Lakshmi Mills founded in Coimbatore

G. Kuppuswamy Naidu founded Lakshmi Mills, one of the earliest composite textile mills of Coimbatore.

First Communal Government Order on reservation

The Justice Party government issued the first Communal Government Order, reserving government posts for different communities.

Golden Rock railway workshop opens at Tiruchirappalli

The South Indian Railway moved its central workshop from Nagapattinam to Golden Rock in Tiruchirappalli.

Madras Service Commission set up

Created by a Madras law, the Madras Service Commission was India's first provincial public service commission and the predecessor of TNPSC.

Standard Fireworks founded at Sivakasi

N. R. K. Rajarathnam founded Standard Fireworks at Sivakasi, first making matches and later fireworks.

Ashok Motors (later Ashok Leyland) founded in Madras

Raghunandan Saran founded Ashok Motors in Madras to assemble cars; it became Ashok Leyland in 1955.

Integral Coach Factory founded at Perambur

The Integral Coach Factory, a railway coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways, was established at Perambur in Madras.

Neyveli Lignite Corporation established

A central public sector company was set up to mine lignite and generate power at Neyveli in South Arcot district.

Hindustan Photo Films incorporated at Ooty

The public sector Hindustan Photo Films was incorporated to make photographic and X-ray films at Udhagamandalam.

Heavy Vehicles Factory set up at Avadi

Battle tanks became the business of the Heavy Vehicles Factory, which the Ordnance Factory Board set up at Avadi.

BHEL incorporated to run the Tiruchirappalli plant

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited came into being to set up heavy electrical factories, among them the boiler plant at Tiruchirappalli.

SIPCOT founded to develop industrial estates

The State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu was set up to develop industrial parks across the state.

Construction of Salem Steel Plant begins

Following a Government of India decision in May 1972 to locate a special steels plant at Salem, construction got under way.

Women first recruited into the Tamil Nadu Police

The first batch of women police, a sub-inspector, a head constable and 20 constables, was recruited in Tamil Nadu in 1973.

Tuticorin major port opened

The new all-weather harbour at Tuticorin began operations as a major port, now known as V. O. Chidambaranar Port.

Madras Export Processing Zone set up at Tambaram

The Union government set up the Madras Export Processing Zone on GST Road at Tambaram to attract foreign investment and boost exports.

Titan Watches founded as Tata-TIDCO joint venture with plant at Hosur

Titan Watches Limited was incorporated in Chennai as a joint venture of the Tata Group and TIDCO, with a quartz watch plant at Hosur.

Equal property rights for women and 30% job quota

Tamil Nadu amended Hindu succession law to give daughters equal rights in family property and reserved 30% of government jobs for women.

Ford enters India with plant near Chennai

Ford re-entered India through a joint venture with Mahindra and set up its main car plant at Maraimalai Nagar near Chennai.

Hyundai Motor India formed, plant at Irungattukottai

Hyundai established an Indian subsidiary and a car factory at Irungattukottai near Chennai, where the Santro, its first car, was launched in 1998.

Mahalir Thittam extends women's self-help groups statewide

The state funded Mahalir Thittam to form women's self-help groups in all districts, after an IFAD-assisted pilot in Dharmapuri from 1989.

TIDEL Park inaugurated in Chennai

TIDEL Park, one of the largest IT parks in South Asia at the time, was inaugurated in Chennai by Prime Minister Vajpayee.

Foxconn opens plant in Nokia SEZ at Sriperumbudur

Foxconn India opened a factory inside the Nokia Special Economic Zone at Sriperumbudur to supply Nokia, anchoring an electronics cluster near Chennai.

Welfare board and department for persons with disabilities

In 2007 Tamil Nadu enacted a Welfare Board for Disabled Persons Act, and in 2009 it formed a separate Department for the Welfare of the Differently Abled.

BMW opens its car plant near Chennai

BMW Group Plant Chennai began operations, adding a luxury carmaker to the automobile cluster around the city.

Nokia halts production at Sriperumbudur

Nokia suspended handset production at its Sriperumbudur factory near Chennai after Microsoft ended its manufacturing agreement.

First Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet

The state held its first Global Investors Meet at the Chennai Trade Centre, signing more than 100 investment MoUs.

Amma Two-Wheeler scheme for working women

Prime Minister Modi launched a 50 percent subsidy, up to Rs. 25,000, for working women buying scooters, on Jayalalithaa's 70th birth anniversary.

Second Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet

The Palaniswami government held the second Global Investors Meet in Chennai, facilitating 304 MoUs worth about Rs 3 lakh crore.

Ford ends car manufacturing in India

Ford announced it would stop manufacturing in India, leading to the closure of its car plant near Chennai.

Naan Mudhalvan skill development scheme launched

Naan Mudhalvan, a state scheme offering students skills training and career guidance, set out to reach about 10 lakh young people annually.

Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2024

The DMK government held the third Global Investors Meet in Chennai, focusing on electronics, electric vehicles and renewable energy.

Mudhalvar Marundhagam low-cost pharmacies

Stalin inaugurated 1,000 'Chief Minister's pharmacies' selling generic and other medicines at discounts of up to 75 percent.

Kalaignar Kaivinai Thittam for artisans

Tamil Nadu launched its own credit-linked subsidy scheme for artisans in about 25 trades after declining to join the PM Vishwakarma scheme.

Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme announced

State employees were promised an assured pension of half their last-drawn pay by the Stalin government, a scheme close to the old pension.