M'rashtra saw over Rs 4 tn investment from 91-06

Post-liberalisation, chemicals and fertiliser, metallurgical and food processing industries together accounted for about 52 per cent of the industrial investment projects in Maharashtra, out of a total of 13,758 approved proposals worth Rs 4,06,778 crore (in the state since August 1991 to December 2006.

The chemical and fertiliser sector attracted maximum investments in the state during the period, accounting for 20 per cent of the total investments with 2,506 projects worth Rs 56,072 crore. Closely following these two sectors, investment proposals in the metallurgical industry were to the tune of Rs 53,730 crore from 1,414 projects with a share of 18 per cent.

The food processing sector attracted 14 per cent of investments from 2,188 projects worth Rs 42,083 crore, according to a recent data brought out by the Maharashtra Economic Development Council (MEDC).

The textiles sector, once the biggest industry in the state and now regarded as a sunset industry, attracted 1,415 projects worth Rs 23,207 crore with a share of 8 per cent.

As against this, sunrise sectors like IT, electronics and electrical could together contribute only 10 per cent of the total investments in the state. While IT attracted Rs 16,675 crore from 214 projects accounting for 4 per cent of the total, the share of electrical and electronics were 4 per cent, from 893 projects worth Rs 12,189 crore. The share of pharmaceuticals was just 2 per cent, from 404 projects worth Rs 5,576 crore.

"Maharashtra's strength has been in the manufacturing sector for long. In the post-liberalisation period, we developed a huge technical manpower for service industries and this is one reason for high investments in these sectors as well. The shift has been seen in the emerging sectors like food processing industry, which has a huge potential in the state. Maharashtra should be projected as the gateway to India and, education and agriculture are other areas that should attract more investment," said Shrikant Sardesh Pande, Secretary General, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (MACCIA).

MEDC sources said that the investment pattern shows that emphasis has shifted from consumer goods manufacturing to intermediate and capital goods segment. Consumer goods manufacturing, which commanded a 52 per cent share in the '60s, has now fallen to less than 15 per cent.

"Over 90 per cent of manufacturing, assembling and processing support are from the small scale sector, with only 2 per cent being in the nature of repairs and maintanence, and the rest in servicing. But this sector has been plagued by sickness as only 60 per cent of them are working," they said.

Sources also said that the state ranked first in the list of the total Industrial Entrepreneurs Memoranda (IEMs) filed in the country from August 1991 to November 2006, with 12,483 projects worth about Rs 3 lakh crore with a share of 18.23 per cent, of a total of 68,468 projects worth Rs 23,10,730 crore IEMs filed in the country.