CM on tour in US to solicit investments

Will Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh be able to repeat his performance at the Maharashtra Investment Forum (MIF) meet in New York where he managed to attract investments of around $1 billion to the state in 2005 is the question being asked in the business and political circles of Maharashtra.

It is a second summit of MIF at New York where Deshmukh will be leading a delegation of business leaders from the state which includes the likes of Madhur Bajaj, wholetime director of Bajaj Auto, Dinesh Keskar Senior Vice President, Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Wilfred Aulbur, Managing director and Chief Executive Officer DaimlerChrysler India, Juergen Schubert, Managing Director, Siemens India among others. Ratan Tata is also likely to join the delegation.

The meet is expected to discuss how Maharashtra can compete with other states in the country in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). Ways to enhance infrastructure and attract FDI into infrastructure sector will also be discussed.

According to the state government's estimate, Maharashtra will require an investment of around $100 billion to augment its infrastructure capacities over the next decade and of this it will require $60 billion alone for its ambitious Mumbai makeover project. An effort is being made to turn Mumbai into an international financial hub.

From the last meet we managed to bring In major brands like General Motors, International Truck, Boeing Almec, Microsoft and others to the state and secure an investment of around $1 billion and this time we are working hard to outperform ourselves, said Industry Secretary V K Jairath.

Apart from manufacturing, we will also look for investments in infrastructure and at turning Mumbai into an important financial hub of the world, he added.