According to Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Manufacturing holds the key to the future growth of Maharashtra. The Chief Minister was speaking at the Maharashtra Investment Seminar which was organized in Mumbai today in conjunction with the Make in India Week. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is the partner of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Government of Maharashtra in organizing the mega event being held from 13th -18th February 2016 in Mumbai.
The Chief Minister observed that 50% of employment in Maharashtra still comes from agriculture which contributes only 11% to the State’s GDP. Clearly, in his view, this sector was not going to provide the much needed employment opportunities for the people of the state. Employment opportunities would only be forthcoming from the manufacturing sector.
According to the Chief Minister, one of the biggest shortcomings of the state was that infrastructure growth had not kept pace with industrial growth. This was one of the key issues that his government was working on addressing. In this connection, he stated that the new Mumbai Airport would be completed by 2019 thereby easing the congestion on the present airport. He also stated that a new airport at Pune was under consideration. In terms of the Mumbai Metro, he stated that the project had gone from the concept phase to the construction phase in a record time of eight months.
In her address, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (IC) for Commerce and Industry stated that while Maharashtra continues to remain the top state in terms of investment, over the past few years, it seems to have lost some vigour. This, in her view, was changing as the State Government was taking steps to improve the investment climate in the state. She highlighted some of the measures that the Central Government was taking which was helping improve the investment climate in the country including the opening up of more sectors for FDI, simplifying procedures to promote the ease of doing business in the country, setting up of commercial courts, formulation of a Bankruptcy Code among others.
According to Mr. Subhash Desai, Hon’ble Industries Minister, Government of Maharashtra, when the state government came to power at the end of 2014, he had set a target of bringing Rs. 5 lakh crores of investment into the state by 2019. This target, he stated, was well on its way to being met in 2016 itself. He highlighted the measures being taken by the State Government to promote the Ease of Doing Business in the country such as curtailing inspector raj, amending the Contract Labour Act, allowing women to work in longer shifts, online grant of licenses and renewals among a whole host of others.
Earlier, while welcoming the participants, Mr. Sanjay Kirloskar, Chairman, CII Western Region and Chairman and Managing Director, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. said that the state already accounts for the highest amount of investment received in the country in the first three quarters alone.
Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy stated that Maharashtra was trying to bring about a greater degree of transparency and probity in the functioning of the government. He lauded the state government for introducing new and innovative methods to finance infrastructure development and for its use of technology.
Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Minister for Railways stated that in terms of the Dedicated Freight Corridor that is planned between Delhi and Mumbai, the process of awarding contracts would be completed by March, 2016 and the project completed by 2019.
According to Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, the length of the road network in Maharashtra had tripled in the last couple of years. He stated that his government was planning to upgrade the Mumbai Port Trust and the JNPT with investments of Rs. 5,000 crores and Rs. 20,000 crores respectively.
Mr. Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (IC) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change stated that not only was the government improving the ease of doing business, it was promoting the ease of doing responsible business through the adoption of sustainable technologies and practices.
Mr. Hansraj Ahir, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers highlighted the investments being undertaken by his ministry in the state of Maharashtra.
The Session also witnessed the unveiling of several new policies of the Government of Maharashtra. These include policies pertaining to the retail sector, port sector, electronics (with an emphasis on fabrication), single window clearance and promotion of SC/ST businesses.
The session was also addressed by leading industrialists such as Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, Mr. Baba Kalyani, Chairman, Bharat Forge, Mr. Dilip Shangvi, Managing Director, Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Mr. Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director, Reliance Industries Ltd., Mr. G V K Reddy, Founder & Chairman and Managing Director, GVK Group, Mr. Sajjan Jindal, JSW Steel Ltd. among others.