Under the visionary leadership and spectacular governance of AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa, (1991-1996 & 2001-2006), Information Technology Industry in Tamilnadu had massively grown from just 2 crores in 1993-94 to a stunning performance of 14, 115 crores in 2005-06. The strategic initiatives taken by Jayalalithaa, attracted tons of millions of foreign investment in Information Technology industry to Tamilnadu. She ensured information revolution in Tamilnadu and made Tamilnadu emerged as the top IT State in India as well as a gateway to South East Asia. During Jayalalithaa's two tenure as the chief minister of Tamilnadu the state became a major software outsourcing destination of the world.  During her rule and visionary leadership, Tamilnadu attracted several IT multinationals to Chennai competing with neighboring states Karnataka and Andhra. During her well planned governance, there were 400 new companies in IT sector started in Tamilnadu every year, in other words, at least one IT company was started based in Tamilnadu everyday. In her term(s) she has also man-aged to draw large Investments from world's renowned multinationals to set their shop here, which is resulting even now. It is a matter of pride that Tamilnadu was the first State in India to announce an IT Policy when Jayalalithaa was the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu for the first time (1991- 1996). With a view to consolidate the gains made so far and to propel the industry into a higher growth trajectory, the Government of Tamilnadu has decided to formulate a new Information Technology Policy. The policy completely covered required environment for an all round growth of the "Knowledge Economy". It is a common experience that even though school and college students from Tamilnadu are very strong in their subject knowledge, they lack self-confidence and   communication skills. Hence, they are put to face many hurdles in securing employment. In order to boost their self confidence and employability, 'Self Confidence and Communication Skills Development (Courses' were designed in consultation with Academicians and Subject Matter specialists from the IT industry and implemented at School and College level. The self-confident leader Selvi. J Jayalalithaa ensured the confidence level of young minds of Tamilnadu improved significantly and assured job opportunities for the youngsters in Tamilnadu. A State level Information Technology Task Force under the Chairmanship of the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Jayalalithaa was constituted. This Task Force rendered valuable suggestions and schemes for the growth of IT Industries in Tamilnadu. "Tamilnadu IT Council" chaired by the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has been constituted. One of the first States in the country to have a comprehensive policy for non-exclusive use of the public right of way by organizations in the private/public sector for laying high bandwidth optic fibre cables throughout the State. Jayalalithaa's government ensured, Software companies in Tamilnadu are assured of uninterrupted power supply, and exempted from Pollution Control regulations, Factories Act. Tamilnadu law and order was maintained extremely well. Public transportation, availability of resources (both human and other resources like water) excellent infrastructure, attracted multi-nationals to choose Tamilnadu as their favorite destination for Information Technology industry. Coding schemes for Tamil monolingual and bilingual scripts have been introduced. A certification: "mechanism, supported by the Tamil software industry has been put in place to certify compliance of hardware and software offerings. Several software and hardware offerings have been certified which conform to the standards and have been authorized for use in Tamilnadu Government and its institutions. A "Center for Research and Applications of Tamil in Internet" has been set up and is supporting research projects in cutting edge areas of Tamil in IT. The "Tamil Internet -2003" Conference was held at Chennai during 22-24 August, 2003, participated by researchers and scholars from Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland with an aim to promote the misuse of Tamil in Internet for information exchange. The growth of the Information Technology industry in Tamilnadu has been spectacular under the visionary leadership of Selvi J Jayalalithaa. It has not only helped information technology professionals, but helped all the support industries and provided millions of job opportunities, ensuring a phenomenal economic growth in Tamilnadu. In a period of upheavals, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm. To be sure, it is painful and risky, and above all it requires a great deal of very hard work. In a period of rapid structural change, the only ones survive are the Change Leaders. A Change Leader looks for change, knows how to find the right changes and knows how to make them effective both outside of the organization and inside it. Selvi J Jayalalithaa anticipates the future and emerged as the Change Leader of Tamilnadu and India. We want Tamilnadu to flourish again.  On this occasion, I take this opportunity to wish you a very happy Birthday madam and wishing you to lead Tamilnadu the 3^rd time soon, for the people of Tamilnadu to rejoice and to attain a super power economy.

V. Srivathsan