How the burgeoning presence of Tata Group is transforming Tamil Nadu's industrial hub Hosur (2024)

Separated by almost 2,000 kilometres, Tatanagar in Jamshedpur and Hosur’s Thimjepalli may not have much in common. But the two places—in Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, respectively—are tied by a common thread: the Tata Group. While Jamshedpur is arguably one of the first planned industrial cities in India, Thimjepalli—the once sleepy forest village known for frequent elephant crossings—is seeing a similar overhaul with Tata Electronics establishing extensive operations here.

“Jamshedpur is a great story but I am sure Hosur will be Jamshedpur Plus,” Tamil Nadu industries minister TRB Rajaa told ET. “There is so much infrastructure work underway near the Tata plant itself that it is natural for the comparison but we are not looking at one particular manufacturing sector like steel, but rather multiple sectors.”

The state envisages an IT services hub in proximity to Bengaluru, which is 40 km away, given the talent already available in Tamil Nadu.

“Once the infrastructure is ready and once companies move and see the value in Hosur, it will probably be a twin electronic city,” the minister said.

Tata Electronics, which has been making enclosures for Apple iPhones, has stepped up hiring and is rapidly expanding operations at the Hosur facility. Two new units are being set up as part of its expansion and a project to build dormitories for workers is coming up quickly.

ETtech

Apple has been looking to diversify away from China and is ramping up its manufacturing presence in India through partners such as Foxconn and Tata Electronics. Tata Electronics has also taken over the Wistron facility in Karnataka as part of its efforts to scale up.

Also Read: How Apple is doubling down on its India manufacturing plan

Boost to local economy

Hosur is no stranger to industrial activity, home as it is to units of TVS, Titan, Ashok Leyland, Ather, Ola and several others. The announcement of an airport in Hosur is being touted as another shot in the arm for the industrial hub.

But there’s no denying the impact that the Tata Group is expected to have on the local economy.

“Tata Electronics is going to be one of the largest employers that brings in some high-end jobs in Hosur,” Rajaa said. “These will be big jobs with people who will reside there and spend in a big way also, so the local economy is going to bloom beautifully because of the infrastructure being built. The focus is going to be on development of infrastructure, better connectivity and building good social infrastructure.”

Arup K Chatterjee, professor at OP Jindal Global University, acknowledged there were similarities between the two industrial townships and that it was possible that Tata would look at Hosur as being ripe for the kind of transformation that was wrought in Jamshedpur. However, he was unsure how much of Jamshedpur's culture would find resonance in Hosur today.

“Steel cities are a different lot altogether. They're very colonial in town planning and the ecosystem that emerged around them,” Chatterjee said. “The culture of colonial clubs, otherwise so common to steel cities, may not necessarily be replicated in Hosur. Durgapur, Bokaro and Jamshedpur for instance are cousins in that sense. They were very cosmopolitan and were planned townships because of the strong missionary presence when it came to healthcare and education especially.”

Jamshedpur was unique in that it was funded, run and maintained by Tata. The region had an abundance of water and electricity--which may not be as easily accessible in Hosur--along with a topography that boasted access to key mineral resources. However, he said that Jamshedpur was stuck in a time warp and that Hosur would probably have an edge in terms of being an industrial town with more modern amenities.

“Jamshedpur cannot be replicated today in any other place in India,” Chatterjee said. “For one, the British are not around and that aspect will make a huge difference. But several parts of Jamshedpur today face challenges due to lack of access to modern amenities. That way, Hosur might be qualitatively better strictly in the sense of access to modern amenities. Certain parts of Hosur might very well reflect the old Tata ethos and I'm sure there will be a lot of welfarism, whatever that may look like in the 21st century.”

Parts of the road leading to Thimjepalli are still being built. The smell of freshly laid asphalt coupled with vast expanses of land under construction greet the visitor on the approach to the Tata Electronics plant that came up four years ago.

Tiny eateries dot the road on either side and small businesses—a courier service, men's salon, a pharmacy-cum-clinic--have come up opposite the facility. It isn't just the hordes of employees that work at the facility but the residents of the village that have benefitted. The factory currently employs about 20,000 people as per reports but is looking to add to its headcount significantly.

“I set up this tea shop and bakery a week after the factory came up," said 47-year-old Mamta, who runs AR Enterprise right opposite the gates of the plant. “I was earlier doing poultry farming but the factory has given local women a shot at self-employment. Even my uncle now supplies water tankers to the Tata Electronics facility. And it isn't just businesses that have gained, we now have a bus stop which wasn't the case earlier.”

Tamilselvan M belongs to neighbouring Denkanikottai village, 30 km from the facility. The 22-year-old pharmacist was thinking of seeking a job near Bengaluru but then found an opening at a small clinic opposite the Tata Electronics plant.

“This was a complete forest area where you would often see elephants,” he recalled. “There was nothing here. No chance of a job opportunity but today things are opening up. We generally get a lot of patients from the company itself, labour that comes in for skin-related issues or general checkups. But it helps the regular village folk too, because we are among the only clinics around here.”

Further in is Vidiyal Residency, the large industrial housing facility that’s being built by the Tata Group in collaboration with the state government in Nagamangalam village. The Rs 508 crore project involves the construction of 14 blocks with about 3,000 dorm-style rooms for workers. As per the website, which had a copy of the environmental clearance application, it will also have amenities such as medical care, creche and recreation facilities and a central kitchen among others.

As part of Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER), the project proposes the construction of a community hall with library and e-seva centre, smart classrooms for schools and renovating their playgrounds in a few of the focus villages that it had identified in the region. It also plans solar street lamps, the upgrading of anganwadis and establishing water supply systems besides rest rooms for schools and local hospitals as well as women’s skill development in dairy and animal husbandry in these villages.

“With the Tatas coming into this area, we've seen a lot of development lately,” 51-year-old teacher Aloysious said. “There are now street lights and buses that ply regularly. Close to the housing project and the new unit that the Tata Group is building there are around 20-25 shops that have sprung up and the standard of living has improved. These people had no jobs earlier. Today they have their own eateries and petty shops.”