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The Maharashtra government is set to revise its industrial policy to make investments hassle-free, state finance minister Ajit Pawar has said.
The announcement comes in the wake of Maharashtra’s pre-eminence in industry being challenged by Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Jharkhand in recent years.
In January 2013, the state government had announced a new industrial policy so that industry could be given more incentives. A revision to this policy is expected to further incentivise the purchase of raw material from the state.
The new industrial policy envisages the development of an integrated industrial area in Maharashtra. Earlier, the government had amended Maharashtra Industrial Development Act, 1961; through this, a special economic zone that didn’t take off could be converted into an integrated industrial area.
The government has proposed an outlay of Rs 2,500 crore for the Package Scheme of Incentives, 2013.
Between August 1991 and October 2013, Maharashtra attracted 18,406 industrial proposals, with an investment of Rs 10,21,633 crore. Of these proposals, 7,812 projects, with an investment of Rs 1,82,273 crore, were commissioned, while 2,061 projects (involving an investment of Rs 79,406 crore) were under execution. At the national level, the state’s share in the number of industrial proposals is 18 per cent; in terms of investment, its share is 10 per cent.
Under its mega project policy, the state government has received 413 project proposals, of which 114 have started production.
The state government hopes to attract more investments due to the implementation of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. And, work on setting up a mega industrial park in Shendra-Bidkin in Aurangabad has started. For the project, the state government has already acquired 1,403 hectares and paid Rs 692.57 crore to land owners.
Devendra Fadnavis, state president of the BJP and legislator from Nagpur, said in terms of attracting investments, Maharashtra had lost to Gujarat and a couple of other states.
He added the state government’s inaction and delay in decision-making had led to investors moving to other states.
