Chief Ministers beckon overseas Indians to cash in on Investment opportunities in States

GANDHINAGAR (GUJARAT) (TIP), January 9, 2015. Chief Ministers of as many as 9 States made a strong pitch for investments by overseas Indians as they laid bare the opportunities and facilities for investors here today at the CMs session on the concluding day of the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Presiding over the session, Mr. Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister, said that the real Bharat was the villages of India and therefore it was important to develop villages to ensure a balanced and an inclusive growth.

He added that every state in India has a success story to tell and have been able to make a mark in one sector or the other. The Central government, he said, believed in promoting cooperative federalism and therefore the States and the Centre have to work in tandem to make India an economic super power. NRIs, he said, will have to play an important role in fulfilling the Centre’s

‘Make in India’ vision.

GUJARAT: ‘Smart State’ is the mantra of the State Government for which a five-point agenda has been adopted. These are smart schemes for welfare, smart economy, smart governance, smart energy and smart human resources. These schemes are expected to help the Indian diaspora to channelize the flow of investments into the State, set up industrial units and contribute to the social sector schemes to light up the lives of the common man. Kerala: Some of the path-breaking projects being undertaken by the State Government are: e Kochi Metro Rail project, Smart City Project, Vizhinjam port development, Light Metro Rail, Kannur Airport Project, Surface Transport Development, National Waterway and a Student Entrepreneurship Programme. These projects demonstrate that this is the right time to invest in the State and be part of the overall growth of the State. The State Government will offer full support to all who extend their help in further developing the State. Kerala has seen a rapid increase in its growth performance. The state has the highest literacy rate, best human development indicators and has many structural advantages such as a vast coastal line and high productivity due to historical reasons.

PUNJAB: The immediate investment opportunities in the State are in the fields of IT, bio-sciences and healthcare and futuristic development of 147 cities and towns. The focus areas of the government are agro and food processing, education & skills, electronics manufacturing, textiles & garments and infrastructure development. The top five reasons for investing in Punjab are: easiest place to do business, robust infrastructure, abundant skills and enterprise,responsive, accountable & transparent governance and fiscal incentives. A lot of facilities have been initiated for the NRIs in the State of Punjab. A special court has been set for NRIs in the State to expedite the process of litigation, special police thanas have been put in place and a special commission has been set up to address property related issues of the NRIs.Jharkhand: The State Government offers ample opportunities to investors to partner in sectors such as industry and industrial infrastructure, electronics & IT/ITeS, road & road transport infrastructure, skill development, knowledge & education, healthcare, power generation & distribution, tourism, hospitality, leisure & entertainment and urban infrastructure. The key enablers for attracting investments are nearness to natural resources, skilled manpower due to existing industrial base, investor friendly policies and land bank. To leverage these enablers through a comprehensive and partnering module, the Government of Jharkhand has focused on industrial and economic development of the state through implementation of various infrastructure projects on PPP format.

MADHYA PRADESH: The State has come a long way from being counted amongst the BIMARU states. It has state-of-the-art infrastructure including roads, power, railways etc. The state has been witnessing double digit growth and has the most investment friendly environment. The industrial policy of the state is investor friendly, the state is very peaceful and there are no man day losses and has single window clearances. The State houses India’s best national parks and world heritage sites.

ANDHRA PRADESH: The state of Andhra Pradesh has a long coast line and is the gateway to India and south east Asia, has 30 urban centres, extensive road and rail network, natural gas and 24X7 power, young and skilled population and deposits. The state is looking at building five grids- water, gas, power, road and fibre. It has a very strong agriculture and marine and diary sector besides having a niche in high technology sectors like information technology. The state has formulated specific policies to give customised impetus for thrust sectors like industry, port, electronics, textile and agro processing. Also, a land bank has been created with 400 thousandhectares of land. The state is ideally poised for river linking and has the potential to become a drought proof state in the next 5 years.

MAHARASHTRA: The state of Maharashtra is a land of investment opportunities. The State Government has started fast tracking approvals, simplifying processes and initiated the process of reducing timelines to facilitate investors, inflow of FDIs and make the state conducive for ease of doing business. The state has commenced work in full earnest to take ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Make in India’. The State offers immense opportunities for infrastructure development as the government is planning to create a new urban city which would be bigger than the city of Mumbai. Also, the Government looks forward to providing affordable housing to middle and lower strata of society, and hence the State invited the Pravasis to take advantage of these investment opportunities.

GOA: The State possesses talented human resource, natural reserves, captivating beauty which makes a great tourism destination. The Goa Government has now identified thrust areas such as creation of knowledge hub, focus on R&D, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, aviation, aerospace, defence, IT, agro-based & food processing industries, to synergize its efforts with the ‘Make in India’ campaign of the Prime Minister. The aim is that the fruits of development percolate to the underprivileged of the society.

HARYANA: The state of Haryana witnessed rapid growth in various sectors and is also an integral part of Delhi’s National Capital Region. Earlier, known as an agricultural state, Haryana has come a long way and now witnesses the presence of some of the well-known multinational companies. Haryana is focusing on skill development for both its urban and rural population toprovide them with employment opportunities, particularly, in MSMEs. Known for achieving milestones in sports, the Government desires to establish Haryana as a ‘Sports Hub’.