Magnetic Maharashtra: State set to attract investment of Rs 1.40 lakh crore from 20 global firms at Davos

Mumbai: The Shinde Fadnavis government is all set to sign MoUs with 20 global companies for an investment of Rs 1.40 lakh crore at the sidelines of the upcoming World Economic Forum meet at Davos in the presence of the Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde.

The proposed investment will be in varied sectors including renewable energy, electrical vehicles, transport, logistics, data Centres, food processing, steel, electronics and engineering.

Development comes amid recent loss of projects

The state government under the Magnetic Maharashtra during the WEF conference will project the state as the most favoured destination across India despite recently losing five major projects including the $20 billion Vedanta Foxconn semiconductor project, Rs 22,000 crore Tata Airbus defence plane manufacturing project, medical device park, bulk drug park and cluster zone for renewable energy equipment.

The state government’s move to project Maharashtra’s growth story to the global investors is crucial as the state has received 31.4% of India FDI $30 billion inflow in the state and registered 25% of India's exports. Besides, Maharashtra's economy is the largest at $480 billion in the country and it is the highest contributor to India’s GDP. Furthermore, there are 0.38 million registered MSMEs with an investment of $15 billion.

Mr Shinde, who will lead a 12 member delegation along with the KPMG team, will share with global investors the state government’s vision to become a $1 trillion dollar economy with a slew of investor friendly policies. A senior bureaucrat, who will be part of the delegation, told the Free Press Journal, ‘’Maharashtra enjoys pre-eminence in attracting both domestic and foreign direct investments in the country despite burgeoning competition from various states. This is because of the state government’s pro-active approach and policy and regulatory environment. The Davosmeet against this backdrop is quite crucial to attract a record investment of Rs 1.40 lakh crorefrom 20 leading global companies. Since June, the state has already attracted an investment of Rs 70,000 crore.’’ The officer declined to reveal the names of 20 global companies to avoid breach of secrecy clause. 

CM Shinde to leave on Jan 15

Mr Shinde, who will be accompanied by the industry minister Mr Uday Samant,  will leave Mumbai on January 15 and return on January 18. The Deputy Chief Minister Mr Devendra Fadnavis, who was scheduled to attend the Davos meet, has cancelled his trip in view of the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi’s Mumbai visit on January 19. 

Mr Shinde will inaugurate the Maharashtra Pavilion at the WEF meeting venue which will showcase a slew of transport infrastructure projects including Samruddhi Mahamarg, Metro rail projects, Mumbai Coastal Road, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link project in addition to the use of electric vehicles in public transport.

The Chief Minister will meet on January 17 a number of leaders and industry captains including Prime Ministers of Luxembourg and Jordan, Singapore information and communication minister, Saudi Arabia industry and mining minister, Japan Bank and Swiss India Chamber of Commerce. He will deliver his speech on challenges for urban development due to climate change and sustainable development.