For decades, Sriperumbudur was known for its villages, farmlands and quiet roads. As Tamil Nadu continues to emerge as India’s leading manufacturing hubs, Sriperumbudur is at the centre of this transformation, with thousands of people arriving every day to power the country’s industrial growth.

But beyond the factory gates, another transformation has quietly taken place.

It is a story told not through production numbers or exports, but through fruit shops, tailoring centres, family-run eateries and classrooms. It is the story of women who turned a changing local economy into lasting opportunities for their families—and, in many cases, for others in their communities.

A Cart That Became a Business

Every morning, Arul Selvi arranges fresh fruit outside the shop her family now owns.

Years ago, the business operated from a cart by the roadside. Income was uncertain and every day depended on passing customers.

As manufacturing expanded across Sriperumbudur, so did her customer base.

“The growth of industries in our area has contributed significantly to our business,” she says.

“Employees from Samsung Chennai plant and other factories visit our shop regularly, helping us build a steady customer base.”

Today, alongside her husband’s water-can supply business, the family earns enough to educate all three of their children—an aspiration that once seemed out of reach.

One Tailoring Shop. Three Businesses.

A few kilometres away, the rhythmic sound of sewing machines fills Veni’s tailoring centre.

When she started her shop 12 years ago, customers were few. As the region developed into a major manufacturing hub, demand steadily increased.

“Many employees from Samsung Chennai Plant regularly visit my shop, and women from nearby communities are among my regular customers,” she says.

What began as a small tailoring unit has grown into an Aari embroidery centre and a beauty parlour, creating employment for three women.

“I started this business with my mother’s support,” she says. “Today, it feels rewarding to see it creating opportunities for others too.”

Meals That Support Ten Families

For Daisy Rani, progress can be counted in the number of people working in her kitchen.

When she opened her small eatery nearly a decade ago, she employed just one person.

Today, ten people earn their livelihood there.

“Many workers from the plants nearby and people from the surrounding community visit us every day,” she says. “Their continued support has helped our business grow steadily.”

The Opportunity One Generation Missed

Industrial growth has transformed livelihoods, but it has also changed something even more fundamental—access to education.

When Gowri was growing up, the nearest school was too far away for her family to continue her education.

“I wanted to study further, but my parents were worried because the school was too far away,” she recalls. “I had to stop my education.”

Determined that her children would have different opportunities, she watched Sriperumbudur change around her.

Today, her son and daughter attend a good school just three kilometres from home.

“Factories coming here brought development. My children have opportunities I never had.”

Dreaming Bigger

That transformation in Tamil Nadu is perhaps best reflected in the aspirations of the next generation.

Kowsalya, a Class XII student, dreams of becoming financially independent while pursuing her passion for drawing.

“My parents often tell me how difficult education was when they were young,” she says. “Today, school is close to home, and I want to continue studying and build a career of my own.”

Her ambitions reflect the confidence of a generation growing up in a region transformed by opportunity.

Thirty Years of Growing with India

As Samsung celebrates 30 years in India, the company’s journey has been defined by long-term investments in manufacturing, innovation and people of Tamil Nadu.

For nearly two decades, Samsung’s manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur has been part of the region’s remarkable transformation. While the factory produces millions of products for consumers in India and around the world, its impact extends far beyond the production line.

The presence of a thriving manufacturing ecosystem in Chennai has helped local businesses grow, enabled women entrepreneurs to build sustainable livelihoods, strengthened household incomes and expanded opportunities for the next generation.

Like thousands of women across Chennai’s manufacturing belt, the stories of Arul Selvi, Veni, Daisy Rani, Gowri and Kowsalya reflect this broader transformation. They remind us that the true impact of manufacturing is measured not only in products built or technologies created, but also in lives changed, aspirations realised and communities strengthened.

As Samsung marks three decades of growing with India, these everyday stories stand as a powerful reminder that lasting progress extends well beyond the factory gates—and that some of the company’s most meaningful contributions are reflected in the people and communities growing alongside it.

Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, in partnership with the United Nations Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI), today launched ‘DigiArivu – Empowering Students Through Tech’, an education programme aimed at strengthening digital and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in Tamil Nadu.

Through this initiative, Samsung will upgrade school infrastructure, enable STEM and digital learning, train teachers, and support holistic student development across 10 government schools in Kancheepuram and Ranipet districts of Tamil Nadu — benefiting over 3,000 students. As part of DigiArivu, Samsung will deploy a multi-layered, community-centric model to transform the learning ecosystem in tier-2 and tier-3 districts.

The programme has been designed based on UN GCNI’s research with state government-run schools, inputs from Samsung employees in the Sriperumbudur manufacturing plant and community members in the region to ensure that interventions address real on-ground needs.

The key focus areas include upgrading the existing learning ecosystem in schools through Building as Learning Aid (BaLA) designs followed by providing equipment for promoting digital learning among school children. The programme will introduce activity-based learning on STEM themes and teacher-training sessions. Samsung will also provide sports kits and set up libraries with Tamil, English and competitive-examination books. It will offer career guidance to Class 12 students, provide education expert speaker series and health awareness camps for the school children. The programme also entails celebration of important days and events at schools along with community members.

The launch event organized at The Anna Centenary Library in Kotturpuram, was graced by Thiru Dr. Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Honourable Minister for School Education, Government of Tamil Nadu; and District Collectors of Kancheepuram and Ranipet; reaffirming the state’s commitment to strengthening STEM education in the state and advancing digital inclusion.

“Samsung has always believed that technology becomes truly powerful when it expands access, opportunity, and confidence for young people everywhere. Through DigiArivu, we are creating a digitally-enabled learning environment that will help students in Tamil Nadu build future-ready skills, strengthen their curiosity, and participate fully in India’s fast-evolving digital economy. Our focus is not only on introducing technology, but on empowering teachers, uplifting communities, and ensuring that every child — regardless of background — can benefit from quality digital education. DigiArivu is another strong step in our ongoing commitment to ‘Powering Digital India’ and nurturing India’s future talent pipeline,” said SH Yoon, President, Samsung Chennai Plant.

“DigiArivu reflects what meaningful collaboration can achieve when business and society come together with a purpose. At UN Global Compact Network India, we are proud to partner with Samsung to advance STEM learning and digital access for children in government schools in Tamil Nadu. This initiative truly embodies the spirit of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — ensuring that no child is left behind in India’s digital future,” said Ratnesh Jha, Executive Director, UN GCNI.

In addition to DigiArivu, Samsung continues to strengthen youth skilling in Tamil Nadu through the Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC) programme. Under SIC, this year, Samsung is training 5,000 students in Tamil Nadu in high-demand future-tech domains such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Big Data, and Coding & Programming. The programme is being implemented in partnership with leading training and skilling organisations, enabling students across Tamil Nadu to gain industry-relevant technical skills and enhance their employability. Through SIC, Samsung is helping young learners in the state, prepare for careers in a rapidly developing future tech economy.

At Samsung, we believe in empowering every individual. Together, we create, we innovate and we grow. Our strength lies in our people, their stories, and their passion.

Watch our employees from Chennai Plant talk about their journey at Samsung:

At Samsung, we believe in empowering every individual. Together, we create, we innovate and we grow. Our strength lies in our people, their stories, and their passion.
Watch our employees from Chennai plant talk about their journey at Samsung.

Know More: https://t.co/snd7tgolxT… pic.twitter.com/GXUEU8DJAm

— SamsungNewsroomIN (@SamsungNewsIN) October 1, 2024

At an education and innovation roadshow organized by Samsung India at SRM Institute of Science and Technology, over 500 enthusiastic young college students said they want to solve some of the most pressing problems that people and communities across the state and the country are facing today. This was a roadshow organized around the second season of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.

Students in Chennai, who came from SRM college said they want to solve real-world problems such as lack of medical information about a patient with a medical history through creating a cloud computing based repository of information, lack of usage of sustainable sources of energy for vehicles, and rising pollution.

At the event, which was organized to talk about Samsung’s global CSR program Solve for Tomorrow, the students said they require platforms such as Solve for Tomorrow to guide and support them in turning their ideas into action. They spoke about the innovative tech they could deploy to find solutions to the problems.

Samsung had recently announced its partnership with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology’s (MeitY’s) Startup Hub and Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi for the second season of the national education and innovation competition Solve for Tomorrow. With Solve for Tomorrow, Samsung aims to usher in a culture of innovative thinking and problem-solving amongst the country’s youth.

The top three teams will win INR 1.5 crore to turn their ideas into action while other participants who reach top 30 and top 10 will be rewarded at various stages of the program.

The second season of Solve for Tomorrow is inviting applications from youth in India aged 16-22 years under the themes of Education & Learning, Environment & Sustainability, Health & Wellness and Diversity & Inclusion. Youth can apply for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow on www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow starting April 04, 2023 till 5 pm on May 31, 2023.

“At Samsung, harnessing the power of youth is priority for us. This is what drives us and our global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’. Giving youth a voice in real-life issues affecting communities around them allows them to see firsthand the change they can create in the world. With Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, we want to give youth that opportunity and also play our part in strengthening the innovation ecosystem in the country, taking forward the vision of the Government and our own vision of Powering Digital India,” said Mr. Hyun Kim, Corporate Vice President, Samsung Southwest Asia.

City-based innovator Vetrival Palani, who is the Founder and CEO of UzhavarBumi, spoke to the students about the value of both success and failure. He also talked about how his start-up is empowering local farmers by establishing a direct trade relationship between them and the consumers. He urged students to look at problems that India faces and Solve for Tomorrow with their unique solutions.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow at a Glance

Who can participate: 16-22 year-olds, individually or in teams of up to 3

Application themes: Education & Learning, Environment & Sustainability, Health & Wellness and Diversity & Inclusion

What will they get: Online training, Bootcamp at IIT Delhi, mentoring & training from Samsung, IIT Delhi,
and MeitY Startup Hub

What do winners get: Total of INR 1.5 crore to 3 winning teams and exciting Samsung products that will boost their productivity

Where can they apply: www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow

From when: Starting April 04, 2023

Till when: Till 5 pm on May 31, 2023

Program Details

Application Window – Round One

Individuals or teams of up to three can submit their applications on www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow, where they will chose the theme, elaborate on the problem they are solving, the proposed solution and its social impact. A jury comprising subject matter experts from FITT, IIT Delhi will shortlist the top 30 teams from among all the applications received.

Idea Development – Round Two

In this round, the top 30 shortlisted teams will attend a five-day bootcamp at the IIT Delhi campus where they will receive training on Design Thinking by FITT, IIT Delhi and on innovation & IPR, patents from MeitY Startup Hub.

Each team will get INR 20,000 to create initial prototypes and then pitch their ideas to a jury comprising of young Samsung employees and experts from FITT, IIT Delhi, MeitY Startup Hub and Atal Innovation Mission at the bootcamp who will select the top 10 teams.

These 30 teams will also visit Samsung India offices, its R&D centres, design centre, and Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers. Each member of the top 30 teams will get a certificate for attending the bootcamp, a Samsung Galaxy Book laptop and Galaxy Buds.

Final Prototype Building – Round Three

In this round, the top 10 teams will get INR 100,000 each to enhance their prototypes based on the feedback from jury members as well as mentors. They will also be mentored by Samsung employees from various domains as well as domain experts from IIT Delhi.

At the end of this round, the teams will submit their final prototypes and prepare for a live presentation where they will pitch their ideas at the Finale Event before an eminent jury.

Each member of the top 10 teams will get a certificate and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip smartphone. The top three winning teams of Solve for Tomorrow season two will win a total prize money of INR 1.5 crore

Samsung Electronics’ global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’ is committed to providing education to young people around the world to empower the leaders of tomorrow. Read more stories on Samsung Electronics’ CSR efforts on our CSR webpage http://csr.samsung.com.

Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, has announced it will set up 15 premium experience stores across top metro cities in India by end of 2023, bringing in exciting new technology experiences for consumers and creating a benchmark in premium electronics retail in the country.

The new experience stores will come up at iconic locations across top metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh.

These stores will showcase Samsung’s complete product ecosystem through exciting zones such as Samsung SmartThings, Smartphones, Audio, Gaming, Lifestyle Screens, Consumer Electronics, Home Theatre and Wearables, showcasing its multi-device connectivity with SmartThings.

The SmartThings zone will showcase how Samsung’s connected living ecosystem can create convenience for consumers in their daily lives. This includes highlighting how a smartphone, refrigerator, AC, home theatre, TV and other devices can connect to each other and provide convenience to consumers. The SmartThings zone will also include scenarios such as Work from Home to show how a Samsung monitor, laptop, tab and smartphone connect to improve productivity, or how you can switch on your ACs remotely so that the your home is cooled even before you reach, or even a home kitchen experience.

For young gaming enthusiasts, these experience stores will have dedicated gaming zones where they can spend time on their favourite games. They can experience the power of Samsung Galaxy S23 flagship smartphones and Samsung’s premium Odyssey Ark gaming monitors as they play.

“As a brand focused on ever evolving customer’s needs, we have seen that demand for our premium products has increased with nearly two thirds of our consumers choosing a premium device at our Samsung Experience Stores. To tap into this growing consumers demand, we are setting up 15 Premium Experience Stores across India that will offer the widest portfolio of Samsung’s curated premium products as well as experiences such as our SmartThings ecosystem, Gaming, Lifestyle Screens, product customization,” said Mr. Sumit Walia, Senior Director, D2C Business, Samsung India.

“These products and experiences will not only provide our customers with an in-person, immersive look at Samsung technology but also help them engage with the brand more meaningfully,” he said.

Consumers, especially Gen Z and millennials, will have the opportunity to attend the many Galaxy Workshops and activities that will be organized at the premium experience stores as part of the Learn @ Samsung initiative. These Galaxy Workshops will be around photography, video-editing, gaming, music, coding, doodling, baking and many other topics, helping young consumers pursue shared interests as well as learn about Samsung’s innovations and how to use their smartphones and other Samsung products more efficiently.

At the customization counter, young consumers can have a DIY smartphone cover customization experience using stickers and other accessories.

Samsung’s new premium experience stores will also offer a phygital experience through Samsung’s Store+ endless aisle platform. With Store+, consumers can buy any Samsung product, from among 1,200 options across its portfolio, even if they are not available at the stores. Consumers can buy products using a Store+ digital catalogue and it is delivered directly to their home. Consumers can also access Samsung’s digital lending platform Samsung Finance+ and Samsung’s device care plan for Galaxy smartphones, tablets and smartwatches Samsung Care+ at the stores.

Consumers visiting the premium experience stores will also be able to get hassle-free after sales service for their smartphones and book service calls for their consumer electronics products at home.

Samsung India has announced the opening of a new exclusive brand shop on Arcot Road, Alwarthiru Nagar, an active shopping district in the city.

The 1,800 sq ft store, which will retail the entire range of Samsung products—from SUHD televisions to Airconditioners, Smart Ovens, ActivWash+ Washing Machines, Smartphones and Wearables, offers yet another one stop shopping experience, while reinforcing Samsung’s commitment to consumers.

“The store is an extension to Samsung’s commitment to give an exclusive buying experience to its customers. Being located in a high residential and commercial vicinity, the store is expected to cater to a maximum number of consumers giving them a one stop solution to all their needs,” Rajeev Bhutani, Vice President, Marketing, Consumer Electronics, Samsung India, said.

Samsung’s latest products including the SUHD range of televisions, ActiveWash+ washing machines, Microwaves, Refrigerators and the 2016 range of smartphones such as Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, among others, will be made available at the all-new store. The store will also house the latest Gear VR, Wearables and Accessories, which will augment the device experience.

To play their part in the ongoing rehabilitation process, employees of Samsung India—from the Company’s sales offices, factories and R&D centres around the country—have raised Rs 56 lakh for the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund, Tamil Nadu by donating a portion of their salaries. In addition, employees of the Company are also volunteering in the ‘Samsung Care For Chennai’  initiative and along with the company’s sales partners, are helping in the distribution of blankets and packaged drinking water in affected areas in Chennai. The Company has supported this initiative by providing drinking water and blankets.