To lure investors in underdeveloped sectors like health, food processing, horticulture and information technology (IT), Madhya Pradesh has come up with some conditional sops. These incentives include interest subsidy, concessional land and exemption in payment of premium on land.
The state proposed to amend the Industrial Promotion Policy 2010 on Monday. This will be announced in the forthcoming Global Investors Summit, taking place in Indore on October 28. Under the amended policy, industrial parks developed by private investors will be offered special incentives of Rs 5 crore or 15 per cent of the development expenses, provided the investment has been made in an area of 100 acres, 10 units. The investment should also provide direct employment to 250 people and of them 50 per cent should be offered for locals.
Similarly, investors in the IT sector will be offered land on 25 per cent of the government rates, provided they create jobs for 100 professionals. Also, the government has offered concessions and sops to the health industry. An investor who has plans to open medical, nursing or para-medical college will be offered subsidy of up to Rs 5 crore.
The state has interestingly defined and categorised micro, small, medium and large scale industries. A unit which has plant and machinery worth Rs 25 lakh or less, will be considered micro unit; Rs 5-crore plant and machinery unit will be considered small unit, and a unit up to Rs 10-crore investment will be considered as medium-scale unit. All units that have more than Rs 10-crore investment will be considered as mega industries.
These incentives, however, seem to have made little impact. The state has already jacked up prices of land in all areas; the private land is not available at cheaper rates. These offers will not make much impact on government’s efforts to lure investors, a senior executive of a company, which dropped investment plans in Madhya Pradesh said.