Tamil Nadu one of India's most industrialised states: Hillary Clinton

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton today described Tamil Nadu as one of the "most industrialised, globalised and educated" states in India.

Making her first visit to Chennai, Clinton won instant applause from students and opinion makers as she began her address with the traditional vernacular greeting in Tamil, "Vanakkam".

She also told her audience how delighted she was to be in Chennai, which she described as "ëxtraordinary" cultural city of the South.

"I have been coming to India since the 1990s as my country's first lady, senator and secretary of state in Obama administration. But this is the first opportunity to come to this extraordinary cultural city of the South and one that means so much to so many in my own country and elsewhere...", she said.

Her packed programme also included a call on Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa, interaction with working women's forum members and visit to Kalakshetra where she witnessed Kathakali and Bharatanatyam forms of dance.